Support measures borrowers bears increase in interest rates studying it Ministry of Finance in collaboration with banks. The focus is on medium-sized households with mostly home loans that do not fall into the vulnerable perimeter, thanks to the support program already implemented by banks.

Meeting

The issue was discussed at a meeting held Christos Staikouras with the administrations of the Greek banks, and among the proposals that came to the table was the possibility of a subsidy like “Bridge 1” or the return of the amount in the form of a bonus. The banks and the Ministry of Finance agreed to explore the relevant opportunities and meet again next week, having previously worked out specific proposals.

The meeting was also attended by a representative of the Bank of Greece, as the issue concerns supervisory restrictions. The goal is to ensure that any support measures do not cause banks to increase balances that are considered inactive from a supervisory perspective.

On the table there is the possibility of a subsidy like “Bridge 1” or a refund of the amount in the form of a bonus.

Banks provided data on the dynamics of repayment of loans in their portfolios. So far no inflow of new bad loans is visible, but this cannot be ruled out in the near future due to the reduction in disposable income caused by continued inflation. The common thread between banks and the MoF was concern about the burden on households due to the significant increase in interest rates, which led to an increase in mortgage payments by an average of 150-200 euros per month (depending on the loan amount). credit, term and margin applied by the bank) since July last year, when the ECB started raising interest rates.

After six consecutive hikes, the ECB’s key interest rate is now set at 3%, bringing the 3-month Euribor, which is also the basis for pricing the vast majority of mortgages, closer to those levels.

Characteristically, the installment on a loan of 100,000 euros with a margin of 2.5% and a maturity of 20 years last year at this time was 535 euros per month, and today it is 695 euros, while for the same loan with a maturity 30 years old, contribution 400 euros, currently 575 euros.

What is true today?

Recall that banks are implementing a program to support vulnerable households (with an income of 7-21 thousand with up to three protected members), subsidizing a 50% increase in the contribution caused by rising interest rates. So far, about 1,000 households have been certified as beneficiaries, and approximately 8,000 more applications are pending.