Code of Conduct

Cooperating Borrower

If you are a borrower, it is essential to be aware that your cooperation is crucial for finding as soon as possible an effective and clear solution that will make it easier for you to settle your loan obligations.

According to the Code of Conduct, borrowers are considered cooperating by their lenders when:

• they provide complete and up-to-date contact information to lenders, or anyone legally acting on their behalf (e.g. landline, mobile phone and fax numbers, email address, home and work address) and designate a relative or friend as contact person in case they are not available
• they are available to communicate with the lender or anyone legally acting on its behalf and respond honestly and clearly to calls and letters from the lender or anyone legally acting on its behalf, in person or through a representative, in any convenient way, within 15 working days
• they provide, either in person or through their agent, full and proper information to the creditor or whoever legally acts on the latter’s behalf, concerning their current financial standing, within 15 working days from the day of any such change or within 15 working days from the day on which the creditor will request relevant information or anyone legally acting on its behalf
• they provide, either in person or through their agent, full and accurate information to the creditor or whoever legally acts on the latter’s behalf, which will have a significant impact on their future financial standing within 15 working days from the day they became aware of such information (e.g. meeting the conditions for receiving a benefit, acquisition - inheritance of new property, loss of ownership of assets, notices of dismissal, termination of leases, redemption of insurance products, profits of any kind, etc.)
• they consent to the investigation of an alternative restructuring proposal with the lender or whoever legally acts on its behalf, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct under Law 4224/2014
  
  Failure to comply with the above may result in the borrower being considered non-cooperative and bring about the relevant legal consequences and implications. For more information, please refer to the relevant ‘NON-COOPERATIVE BORROWER’ section below.

Reasonable Living Costs

In assessing the borrower’s financial data, the Code considers, among other sources of information, the level of “reasonable living costs”.

The calculation of reasonable living costs is an objective way of determining the expenses required to meet the basic needs of households and is based on the data of the Household Budget Survey (HBS) carried out every year by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (https://www.statistics.gr/), and is used as a commonly accepted baseline for evaluating the ability of borrowers to meet their loan obligations, according to their current financial standing.

The main costs that are indicatively included in the calculation are food costs, clothing and footwear costs, housing-related costs, transport costs, costs related to the maintenance and repair of means of transport, costs for using urban and intercity public transport, costs related to the repair and maintenance of durable household goods, goods for ordinary household consumption, information and education costs, costs of telephone and postal services, costs of health goods and services, costs for education services, costs of social protection services, costs of other financial services (tax experts' fees, administrative fees, lawyers' fees, notary's fees, subscriptions to professional associations, etc.).

For detailed information on “reasonable living costs”, please visit the website of the Hellenic Bank Association (www.hba.gr) and the website of the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management of the Ministry of Finance (www.keyd.gov.gr/orismoi_synergasimosdan-2/).

Each borrower is treated as a case with different needs depending on their family composition. Reasonable living costs are stated on the “Standard Financial Information Form" form.

1. Claims from contracts terminated before 01.01.2015.
2. Claims against a borrower that do not exceed any of the limits under points (a) and (b) below:

1. When the borrower has applied to an out-of-court settlement of a debt by Article 8(1) of Law 4738/2020 or when the Company has served the debtor an invitation for out-of-court restructuring of the obligation by Article 8(2) of Law 4738/2020, and for the period until termination of the procedure as unsuccessful for any reason.
2. When a debt restructuring contract has been signed, which is not subject to the consent of the State or a Social Security Agency, and the Company or the claimant is an entitled creditor or results are produced for the Company or the claimant according to Article 5(2) of Law 4738/2020.
3. When the borrower or the Company or another creditor has applied for the validation of the borrower’s consolidation agreement, and if it is validated or concluded by Article 41 of Law 4738/2020 or Article 103(5) of Law 3588/2007, as set out in Article 265(1)(a) of Law 4738/2020, and is binding on the institution.
4. When the borrower or the Company or another creditor has applied to declare the borrower bankrupt and throughout the period until its eventual rejection.
5. When the borrower has submitted an application to be subjected to the procedure of Law 3588/2007 or Law 3869/2010 or Law 4605/2019, or Law 4469/2017, which is pending, or the issuance of a court judgement or the procedure itself is pending, or when the debtor has been subjected to the process of Article 68 of Law 4307/2014, which is pending.
6. When Article 7(3)(e) of Law 4738/2020 applies.
7. When the borrower-legal entity has been placed into liquidation.
8. Claims against a borrower against whom third-party creditors have initiated legal proceedings to secure debts owed to them.

It is emphasised that the Company is obliged to include a borrower in Stage 3 (Evaluation of financial data) of the Arrears Resolution Process if they appear and submit the information required on their own initiative, according to the Code, for their ability to repay their debts to be evaluated, unless one of the above cases exists.

The ARP can be used for the following persons:

1. Borrowers who are natural persons, private individuals/self-employed/ sole proprietorships
2. Legal entities: Very small enterprises with an average turnover of up to €1,000,000 over the last 3 tax years

• Stage 1: Contacting the borrower

  Suppose the delay in paying a due loan instalment exceeds thirty (30) calendar days. In that case, a written notification is sent to the borrower within the next fifteen (15) days regarding the status of their debt (date of default, number and total amount of instalments which are past due, outstanding balance of the debt, interest rate at which the unpaid part of the debt is compounded), as well as their eligibility for the ARP to find a solution for the repayment of their obligations in arrears.

  
  For more information on the ARP, borrowers may refer to the information material provided in electronic and printed form via:

  
  - The INFORMATION LEAFLET FOR BORROWERS IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY, which is available at the company's offices

  
  -This website of the company www.qquant.gr

  
  - The SPECIAL CONTACT POINTS, i.e. at the offices of QQuant Master Servicer Servicing of Loans and Credits Single Member S.A.  at 66, Kifisias Avenue, Marousi Attica, or at the exclusive telephone number 216 000 2000 where you can ask questions, get instructions, receive supporting and other documents for you to implement the Code of Conduct.

• Stage 2: Gathering financial and other information from the borrower

  To implement the ARP, the borrower must provide information and evidence/justifications necessary to confirm the information submitted. More specifically:

  If it is a Natural Person (individual/self-employed/sole proprietorship), it must fill in the Form “Standard Financial Standing” (SFS), accompanied by the necessary supporting documents.

  If it is a Legal Entity or a very small enterprise, it must fill in the “Standard Financial Information Form" form, accompanied by the necessary supporting documents.

  If the loan involves co-borrowers and/or guarantors, the relevant data must also be submitted to them.

  The above forms, the information required in each case and the supporting justifications that must be provided are available on this website and at Quant’s offices, located at 66 Kifisias Ave., Marousi 115 26, Athens.

  The forms can be submitted either by post or online or in person at the offices of QQuant Master Servicer Servicing of Loans and Credits Single Member S.A., at 66 Kifisias Ave., Marousi 115 26, Athens.

  Quant may ask the borrower to provide supporting evidence/justifications necessary to confirm the information submitted and set a deadline for their submission. Moreover, Quant reserves the right to seek additional data/information about your financial standing from other sources in compliance with applicable laws.

• Stage 3: Evaluating the financial data

  This stage involves using the information provided by the provisions of Stage 2 to assess the actual conditions and propose the possible solutions that are fit for each case. As long as the borrower is a Natural Person (individual/self-employed/sole proprietorship), the level of “Reasonable Living Costs” and whether they belong to a “Vulnerable Social Group” is taken into account, according to the Code of Conduct

  The evaluation takes into account:

  • the property of the borrower,
  • the borrower’s current ability to repay their debts, taking into account in each case the total amount and nature of the borrower’s debts, including any debts owed to other institutions, tax or other public authorities or insurance bodies,
  • the borrower’s history of financial conduct, and
  • the borrower’s future ability to repay their debts by the end of the arrangement period.
  • The commercial value of existing real collateral (e.g. a lien on the property)
  • The value of other borrower’s assets that could, with their consent, constitute additional collateral(s)

  Throughout the evaluation process, every effort is made to cooperate with the borrower to determine their ability to repay their debts, aiming to propose the appropriate solutions.

• Stage 4: Suggesting an appropriate solution

  Following the evaluation above, Quant provides cooperating borrowers with a proposal involving one or more alternative arrangement solutions after analysing all the relevant terms for them to understand the proposal or even the differences between the alternative proposed solutions, in case there are several, as well as between the existing and new terms of repayment of their debts.

  The delivery time of the proposal may be at most two (2) months, starting from the receipt of all the required information from the borrower.

  The arrangement alternatives are categorised as follows:

  Arrangement Solutions: Modifying the existing contract or restructuring an existing loan.

  Final Arrangement Solutions: Final payment or a final settlement of debts in any other way, such as, indicatively, a one-time payment or another transfer of equivalent effect or liquidation of property, taking into account any limitations of the applicable legislation.

  It is noted that the evaluation of applications in the context of the above procedure does not guarantee the prior successful completion and agreement on the possible proposed Arrangement/Final Arrangement Solutions.

• Stage 5: Appeals Review Process

  Suppose the borrower receives a written notification from Quant that they have been designated as “Non-Cooperating”. In that case, they can file an appeal by filling in and submitting the form entitled “Appeal Form” at the offices of QQuant Master Servicer Servicing of Loans and Credits Single Member S.A. located at 66, Kifisias Avenue, 15125 Marousi, Athens, against acknowledgement of receipt. Appeals can also be submitted electronically [info@qquant.gr].

  The possibility to submit an appeal is provided only once after each ARP.

  Quant’s independent Appeals Committee has reviewed the appeal, which has been set up for this purpose.  The final decision of the Appeals Committee is provided, duly reasoned and in writing within two months after submission of the appeal by the borrower.

  If the appeal is admitted, the borrower is notified of the corrective actions, any revised solution, and the ARP stage to which their loan case is referred again.

Indicative Proposed Solutions

Possible proposed solutions can be categorised as follows:

Arrangement Solution
Arrangement solution means the amendment of the contract with new debt service terms to address the difficulties the borrower faces, which may also include a renegotiation of the total debt.

Types of short-term arrangements

Short-term types of arrangements are considered those with a duration of less than two years that involve cases where the difficulties faced by the borrower to repay their debts are reasonably deemed temporary.

Types of long-term arrangements
This means the types of arrangement with a duration of more than two (2) years to reduce the capital and/or interest instalment, taking into account conservative assumptions for the estimated future repayment capacity of the borrower until the end of the repayment time frame.

Final Arrangement Solution:
A final arrangement solution means an agreement, after having investigated and excluded an arrangement solution, for the final payment of the debts in cases that may include a change of ownership of the collateral or other assets of the borrower, with their consent.

If the appeal is admitted, the borrower is notified of the corrective actions, any revised solution, and the ARP stage to which their loan case is referred again.

Appeals Review Process

A borrower designated as “Non-Cooperating” may submit an appeal either by filling and submitting the “Appeal Form” at the offices of QQuant Master Servicer Servicing of Loans and Credits Single Member S.A. located at. 66, Kifisias Avenue, 15125 Marousi, Athens, against acknowledgement of receipt or electronically.

The possibility to submit an appeal is provided only once after each ARP.

The appeal is reviewed by Quant’s independent Appeals Committee by the established appeals review process. The decision of the Appeals Committee is provided, duly reasoned and in writing within two months after submission of the appeal by the borrower.

If the appeal is admitted, the borrower is notified of the corrective actions, any revised solution, and the ARP stage to which their loan case is referred again.

Non-Cooperating Borrower

The legal consequences and effects of the designation of a borrower as non-cooperating are the launching by the company of legal actions to satisfy its claims, such as a complaint, issuance of a payment order, enforcement of interim relief, compulsory attachment of movable or immovable property, including the property that constitutes the sole residence of the borrower, as well as claims against third parties, sale of any collateral provided by guarantors and third parties.
It is also noted that the designation of a borrower as “non-cooperating” entails the risk of exclusion from special beneficial provisions of the legislation.
The borrower shall be informed in writing of their designation as Non-Cooperating within fifteen (15) calendar days of the decision and may file an appeal by filling in and submitting the “Appeal Form” at the offices of QQuant Master Servicer Servicing of Loans and Credits Single Member S.A. located at 66, Kifisias Avenue, 15125 Marousi, Athens, against acknowledgement of receipt,  or electronically [info@qquant.gr].

Entities providing Assistance to Borrowers

When no mutually acceptable solution is found between the Company and the borrower, the dispute may be settled out-of-court through:

• the Consumer Ombudsman
  Alexandras Avenue, 11471 ATHENS
  Tel.: (+30)210 6460612
  Fax: (+30) 210 6460414
  E-mail: grammateia@synigoroskatanaloti.gr
  Website: http://www.synigoroskatanaloti.gr/
• Hellenic Financial Ombudsman 
  1, Massalias Street, 10680 Athens
  Tel.: 10440, 210 3376700
  Fax: 210 3238821
  E-mail: info@hobis.gr
  Website: https://hobis.gr/
• Debt Information and Support Centers operated by the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management or on the corresponding website (http://www.keyd.gov.gr)
  of the accredited mediator established under Article 7 of Law 3898/2010 (Government Gazette A, No 211/16.12.2010) accessible on the website http://www.diamesolavisi.gov.gr/sites/default/files/pinakas_diapisteumenwn_diamesolavitwn.pdf 
• Any other body registered in the register established under Article 18 of Ministerial Decision No 70330 /09.07.2015 (Government Gazette B, No 1421)

The Consumer Ombudsman is an Independent Authority established by Law 3297/2004 and is supervised by the Ministry of Development. It functions as an out-of-court body for the amicable resolution of consumer disputes and as an advisory institution of the State.

The Consumer Ombudsman is responsible for disputes between consumers and credit institutions regarding mortgage and consumer loans and credit cards granted to natural persons for purposes unrelated to their commercial, business or professional activity. In this context, the Consumer Ombudsman acts as an out-of-court mediator for the amicable settlement of disputes between creditors and debtors to agree to an arrangement for their non-performing loans.

Vulnerable Social Groups

Borrowers in socially vulnerable groups include borrowers with special health problems (such as vision, hearing, severe or long-term illness and intellectual disabilities warranting alternative means of communication). In this case, the Company adopts alternative and customised ways to communicate with them based on the best international practices that are differentiated and adapted to each case.

Furthermore, it is underlined that borrowers are responsible for notifying the Company of their health issues in writing, as well as for providing the necessary supporting documents for the latter to handle them as borrowers who fall under the category of vulnerable social groups - which will be kept by Quant by the provisions of Law 4624/2019, as applicable, regarding record keeping and the processing of sensitive personal data.

In case of the borrower’s inability, his/her family members can also notify the Company, provided that the necessary, case-specific documentation is submitted. Especially in cases where a judicial representative has been appointed, the submission of the respective judicial decision is necessary so that the Company can send the required communication of the Delay Resolution Process.