291 lawmakers in Greece sanctioned an omnibus bill of 13 prior actions with 153 voting in favor, 138 voted against.
The new bill gives the right to sell bad business loans from local banks to overseas distress funds as part of a new austerity bill demanded by bailout lenders from the rest of the eurozone.
The voting session took place after a 10-hour debate. The reforms follow months of pressure from Greece’s lenders from the EC, ECB, ESM and IMF for a solution to the problem of non-performing loans. Other provisions in the bill include a new pay scale for civil servants.
The passing of the legislation was a condition for the release of the next loan installment of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
