MADRID, 20 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, today conveyed to the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, the joint work between her ministry and Spanish financial institutions to find support measures for vulnerable mortgage debtors before the rise in interest rates.
This was stated to the media in Frankfurt after meeting with the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, and participating in a round table to address the Perte of the New Economy of Language at the Book Fair of that city.
Calviño has also positively valued “the commitment and involvement” that the entities are showing to find solutions and put on the table a catalog of measures that allow “minimizing the negative impact” and “alleviating” the situation and the finances of the Spanish families in a context of “rapid rise” in interest rates by the ECB.
“I welcome all the proposals, the teams are right now in Madrid analyzing them and working intensely so that as soon as possible we can see which ones can be the most effective”, added Calviño.
The latest proposal that the financial sector has presented to Economy to support families with difficulties in meeting the payment of mortgage payments is to extend the term of variable mortgages contracted by vulnerable families that have become significantly more expensive due to the rise of the Euribor.
According to a draft royal decree approving this temporary protocol for the extension of terms for mortgage debtors affected by the rise in rates in the current inflationary context, to which Europa Press had access, the protocol will be in force for 12 months from the date of publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) of the Royal Decree-Law and will be voluntary adherence by credit institutions, which must inform the Bank of Spain about the operations they formalize under it.
The maximum extension period of the mortgage loan will be five years, provided that the repayment term of the loan does not exceed 40 years from its granting (in this case the maximum term will be that which determines a total duration not exceeding 40 years) and that the quota resulting from the novation is not less than the last one existing before the revision of the type.
Once the bank and the client agree on the extension of the amortization period, the outstanding principal of the loan will be amortized through the new periodic installments and will continue to accrue the corresponding interest in accordance with the initially agreed clauses. Thanks to the extension of the term, the amount of the periodic installments of the mortgage loan that would result from the increase in the interest rate will be reduced.
To benefit from the measure, debtors must meet a series of requirements, such as that their mortgage has become more expensive by 30% after the rate update, that family income does not exceed three times the Public Indicator of Income with Multiple Effects (Iprem ) annually in 14 payments (that is, 24,318 euros per year) and that, after reviewing rates, the mortgage payment exceeds 40% of the net income of the family unit.
Once a client requests the modification of the conditions of their mortgage under the new protocol, the entities will have a period of 45 days to respond.
Although the employers of the financial sector (AEB and CECA) have not commented on this proposal, the CEO of Bankinter, María Dolores Dancausa, pointed out this Thursday, during the presentation of the bank’s results, that it is “a principle of agreement that is not completely closed” and that will be framed in the Code of Good Practices that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has assured that it wants to reinforce as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Calviño has indicated that he has spoken with the ECB teams about the temporary tax on banks that the Government has proposed for 2023 and 2024. He has indicated that the central bank is currently analyzing what are the aspects to take into account to when establishing this type of levy in relation to financial supervision and stability.
“These are all issues that, of course, we have analyzed in depth by the Government before presenting the tax proposal and I am confident that the parliamentary process will move forward quickly,” he pointed out.
The tax proposed by the Government supposes a temporary surcharge of 4.8% on the interest margin and on the net commissions obtained by entities with revenues of more than 800 million euros in 2022 and 2023, with the aim of raising an amount total of 3,000 million euros.
As for her meeting with Lagarde, the first vice president stated that it was a “constructive” meeting, although she indicated that they meet “very frequently”. They have exchanged points of view on the economic situation and current challenges, just like yesterday in the presence of King Felipe VI.
