A compliance report by the EU commission calls for 40,000 property auctions to be helde each year for the next three years, as part of the ongoing greek bailout. The demand, made known earlier this week, was met with a strong – albeit unoficcial – statement of denial by the Greek Ministry of Finance. The auctions are part of an effort of the country’s four largest banks, which have been recapitalised three times, as part of the bailout program, to reduce a “mountain” of bad debt they hold in the form of non-performing loans (NPLs) in 2018. To do so, the systemic banks are planning about 10,000 foreclosures, a plan that does not seem viable, considering that only 30 electronic auctions had been made up to December, tallying up the total number of properties to 80 overall. So far, auctions have been stalled either by bureaucracy and a sluggish judicial system or by anti-austerity activists holding protests. This month alone, 500 auctions have been announced, but if the goal is to be met, the banks have to schedule up to 2,000 auctions.