The prime minister this Wednesday proposed that parliament ask the governor of the Bank of Portugal to be heard on the impact of rising interest rates on home loans and believed that the impact of inflation would be greater without the euro.
During the preparatory debate before the European Council, António Costa answered questions from the PCP and BE, who wondered what the government intends to do in the face of the continued rise in interest rates, impacting households’ home loans.
“First, I believe that this inflation crisis cannot be answered by raising interest rates. Another point is that the independence of the European Central Bank (ECB), which decides as it sees fit, is a consequence of the treaties”said Antonio Costa.
The Prime Minister pointed out that when Portugal had its own currency, the Bank of Portugal also responded to inflationary crises by raising interest rates and recalled that it had a rate of 23% for its first home loan.
“If we had a shield, we wouldn’t have lower inflation or a lower rate hike, but probably a stronger hike,” he warned.
“The suggestion I leave is to work primarily on data. The best thing to do is to call the governor of Banco de Portugal.” [Mário Centeno] to provide accurate and rigorous information on the impact of the effective rise in interest rates on different types of contracts”orphan.
On Friday, the PSD had already requested the parliamentary hearing of Mário Centeno, among others, as there is currently “market failure” and “supervisory inaction” in the banking sector.
Asked in the European debate about alleged shortcomings in the diplomas already approved for the renegotiation of housing loans, the prime minister stressed that “they are in force”, but admitted that the government will return to the subject at the cabinet meeting on February 16. which will be dedicated to housing.
Source: DN
