The Minister of Finance guaranteed this Saturday that in the new stability mechanism there was no need to compensate the banks for the increase in interest rates, as a first reduction in costs and distribution is expected during the contract.
“I will explain in detail the entire mechanism that is being worked on I will present all the details on Thursday, but there is no need for compensation to the banks”, stated Fernando Medina.
Speaking to the Portuguese press at the end of the meeting of EU Finance Ministers, which takes place in Santiago de Compostela as part of the Spanish Presidency of the Union, the government official pointed out that this is due to the fact that this operation ” what it does is reduce costs at a certain initial point in time, which are then spread over a long period, at an advanced stage of the contract.
“And that is why the contract maintains its balance and maintains its structure. It is simply a different management of payments,” he added.
The indication comes after Fernando Medina announced on Friday the creation of a mechanism to create stability in the face of rising interest rates, following a new increase, and also announced the extension of the interest subsidy on housing loans.
“What the government is doing is precisely creating a mechanism to further protect these families in relation to the movement of interest rates, to create a situation of predictability and stability, while at the same time we will expand access to credit subsidies, that is to to provide the support we give to those families who, upon reaching a certain income level, are currently undergoing a very significant effort,” he stated.
Noting that “In fact, there are many families who have seen their household costs increase significantly as a result of these recent increases.their housing costs and what this weighs on their budgets’, the Minister of Finance argued that it was necessary ‘to look at these families in particular’.
To this end, the government has “worked very intensively in recent months” with the Bank of Portugal and the Portuguese Banks Association to soften the impact of the successive interest rate increases and thus “build a solution that is effective and solid.” for Portuguese families,” he concluded.
The specific measures will be approved by the Council of Ministers next Thursday.
Also planned is the “expansion of support for interest subsidies for those families who currently have an effort rate of more than 35% and, especially, for those who currently have an effort rate of more than 50%,” he said, adding that the executive power “will expand access criteria” to “facilitate families’ access to this subsidized interest rate support”.
The news was reported this morning by the weekly Expresso, which reported on new rules for lowering mortgage costs, based on a mechanism to reduce and stabilize housing loan payments for two years and the strengthening of the mortgage subsidy.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced a further increase in the three key interest rates by 25 basis points, as at the previous meeting, taking deposit rates to the highest level ever in the eurozone.
Source: DN
