Government and banks agree on measures to help those with mortgages

The government and the banking sector have reached an agreement on the measures to be adopted to alleviate the mortgage burden of more than one million vulnerable families or those at risk of vulnerability due to the rise in the Euribor, while preserving financial stability, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

Negotiations between the Government and the banking associations (AEB, CECA and UNACC) and the Bank of Spain are still ongoing, pending finalisation of the last details, but the Council of Ministers is expected to approve this Tuesday the extension of the catalogue of measures available to households to effectively reduce their mortgage burden and have more certainty in their level of expenditure in the medium and long term, being able to choose the measure that best suits their needs and financial situation.

Specifically, the package of measures will act in three ways: improving the treatment of vulnerable households, opening a new framework for temporary action for households at risk of vulnerability due to the rise in interest rates and adopting improvements to facilitate the early repayment of loans and the conversion of mortgages to fixed-rate mortgages.

For vulnerable mortgagors (with incomes of less than 25,200 euros per year, three times the IPREM), the Code of Good Practices approved in 2012 will be extended and reinforced, so that they will be able to restructure their mortgage loan with a reduction in the interest rate during the 5-year grace period (to Euribor -0.10%, from the current Euribor +0.25). Likewise, the period for requesting dation in payment of the property will be extended to two years and the possibility of a second restructuring, if necessary, is envisaged.

Households with an income of less than 25,200 euros per year that devote more than 50% of their monthly income to mortgage payments but do not meet the current criterion of a 50% increase in the mortgage effort will be able to take advantage of the Code with a 2-year grace period, a lower interest rate during the grace period and an extension of the term of up to 7 years.

“This measure is necessary for those families who, as a result of the rise in interest rates, reach excessive levels of mortgage effort that force them to reduce basic expenses and endanger the payment of the mortgage, can receive appropriate treatment”, explained Economía in a statement.

By way of example, the Ministry pointed out that the application of these measures will allow a family with a standard mortgage of 120,000 euros and a monthly payment of 524 euros after the interest rate review to see their payment reduced during the 5-year grace period by more than 50%, to 246 euros.

HELP FOR THE MIDDLE CLASSES AT RISK OF VULNERABILITY

On the other hand, a new Code of Good Governance is proposed to provide relief to middle-class debtors at risk of vulnerability due to the increase in mortgage repayments, helping families to adapt more gradually to the new interest rate environment.

Households with an income of less than 29,400 euros per year (three and a half times the IPREM) and mortgages taken out until 31 December 2022 that have a mortgage burden of more than 30% of their income and which has risen by at least 20% will be able to benefit from these measures.

Financial institutions will have to offer all these cases the possibility of a 12-month freeze on repayments, a lower interest rate on the deferred principal and an extension of the loan term of up to 7 years.

Likewise, Economía has announced that expenses and fees will be further reduced to facilitate the change from variable to fixed rates and fees for early repayment and change of mortgage from variable to fixed rates will be eliminated throughout 2023.

Measures to promote financial education will also be included and the monitoring of the implementation of both codes will be reinforced.

VOLUNTARY ADHERENCE BUT OBLIGATORY COMPLIANCE ONCE SIGNED.

The two Codes of Best Practices will be voluntary for financial institutions, which will be obliged to comply with them once they have been signed. In the event of transfer of the credit to a third party, banking institutions must guarantee the protection of this catalogue of measures in the event of transfer of the credit to a third party.

Financial institutions will be able to adhere to the Codes immediately and the aim is that the adopted set of measures will be available as of 1 January 2023.

There are currently 3.7 million mortgages indexed to Euribor. “Thanks to the income protection measures and the fall in the stock of credit, households have a healthier financial position with more savings and less debt than in the past. In addition, three out of four mortgages are now granted at a fixed rate, the average residual term has fallen to 10 years in 2021 and the percentage of households that devote more than 40% of their disposable income to mortgage payments has fallen substantially in recent years,” the Ministry has highlighted.

SOURCE: PERIODISTA DIGITAL