Greece struck a deal with European creditors Tuesday on economic measures it needs to make to get its next batch of bailout money, including a 10 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) cash injection for its crippled banks.
Though the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had already made many of the reforms required by its third international bailout, it has balked at a few.
Those included introducing a law that would have scrapped mortgage protections — and raised the prospect of mass evictions and property selloffs. Instead, a compromise appears to have been reached that will protect many in arrears on their mortgages.
Read: Despite hope for a new bailout, Grexit threat remains
Greece’s left-wing government, which has abandoned its earlier promises to scrap budget austerity, has imposed drastic new tax hikes since reaching an agreement with lenders in July over a new bailout deal. The latest austerity measures also include road tax increases, as well as tougher rules for tax settlements.
Pierre Moscovici, the European Union’s top economy official, says Greece and the creditors had reached a deal on all outstanding issues, a development that also brings promised discussions on reducing Greece’s debt burden one step nearer.
“I am happy to confirm that agreement has been reached on the remaining measures needed to complete the first set of milestones,” he told a press briefing in Brussels. “We expect finalization of the process to take place shortly following the swift adoption of necessary legislation by the Greek Parliament on Thursday.”
The news of the breakthrough also helped lift the main Greek stock index, which was up 2.3% in late-afternoon trading.
In Athens, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos confirms that legislation would be fast-tracked and voted on late Thursday. The key compromise made, he says, was on foreclosure law. Assistance for distressed mortgage holders will be maintained, though fewer people will qualify for foreclosure protection.
The mortgage protection scheme is expected to remain in effect for three years, by which time Greece and its creditors hope the economy will be steadily healing.
“It was a difficult negotiation that was held under a lot of time pressure,” Tsakalotos says. “The pressing issue was the bank recapitalization … We want banks that will not just keep their heads above water but will start giving loans.”
With Tuesday’s deal, Greece should get 2 billion euros in loans as well as 10 billion euros for its banks, which are reeling from limits on money transfers and another likely recession.
Healing the banks is perhaps the most pressing concern for Greece. The lenders remain badly hobbled by this year’s crisis, which put the country on the brink of falling out of the euro. They need cash quickly so they can start operating normally, a necessary condition for any modern economy.
The scale of the problems facing Greek banks is most evident in the fact that the government is still limiting cash withdrawals to a mere 60 euros a day or 420 euros a week. The limits were imposed in late June to head off a bank run.
Read: Greek lawmakers back third bailout deal
Last month, the European Central Bank said Greece’s banks need 14.4 billion euros in fresh money to get back on their feet and resume normal business. The banks are unlikely to go back to business as usual immediately after the cash injection: limits on money transfers can take a long time — even years — to be lifted completely.
The sum that the banks will get is lower than many had anticipated. Up to 25 billion euros was made available in the bailout program. As a result, the size of Greece’s third bailout should turn out to be smaller than the 86 billion euros envisioned in the summer.