Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Monday that his ministry will incorporate Diko’s suggestions on the management of bad loans into proposed legislation changes and present them to President Nicos Anastasiades.

“We have noted the positions, the concrete proposals of Diko related to the problems of our banking sector, with the changes that need to be put forward in the legislative framework concerning the operation of the loan management body and the operation of Estia,” Georgiades told reporters after Diko chairman Nicholas Papadopoulos met Anastasiades.

Estia is a scheme aimed at helping vulnerable households to repay their loans by subsidising their monthly instalment.

The government needs a majority in parliament ahead of critical votes for the future of the banking sector. This includes the extension of guarantees to Hellenic Bank to allow the acquisition of the operations of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank to go ahead. The government also requires a majority to pass changes in legislation concerning the management of loans, a condition set by the European Commission in return for its approval of the Hellenic-Co-op deal.

The government can currently rely on the 18 lawmakers of Disy in the 56-seat parliament and needs the 10 votes of Diko deputies. One of the seats in the House remains vacant after the supreme court cancelled the election of a Solidarity representative.

If the Hellenic-Co-op deal goes ahead, the government will receive the bulk of the Co-op’s non-performing loans, the collateral of a €2.5bn deposit it made in April, and transfer it to the non-performing loans management body. At a later stage, the later is likely to absorb bad loans also from other banks. Non-performing loans in the Cypriot banking system account for roughly €22bn or roughly 45 per cent of the total.

“The government approves these proposals; they are going to a right direction, the same direction that I believe we must collectively move in the coming days,” the finance minister said.

This, the finance minister continued, would allow the banking sector to stabilise and restore depositors’ confidence.

This confidence reached a new low following the 2013 banking crisis when Co-op customers withdrew tens of millions of euros on fears politicians would vote down the bill on the guarantees to Hellenic, which would lead to the resolution of the Co-op, the state-owned lender with about €9.7bn in deposits.

“The finance ministry will process and incorporate Diko’s remarks which are going in the right direction and are accepted (and) serve the general purpose,” the minister said and added that Anastasiades will respond to Papadopoulos officially and by Wednesday, the cabinet will approve the draft bill on Estia and the operation of the non-performing loans management body.

Georgiades declined to comment on Papadpoulos requesting resignations at the Co-op.

The chairman of the finance committee of the parliament, Averof Neofytou, also the leader of Disy, said that the committee would have to meet day and night over the next three days so that the bills can be put on vote on Friday.

“Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and on Thursday from morning to midnight if necessary,” Neofytou was quoted as saying by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).