The Portuguese Banking Association (APB) remains open to working collaboratively with the government and parliament to develop and implement public policies. An official representative assured that the APB is ready to offer opinions and suggestions on proposed legislation and to present proposals for improvements to the legal and regulatory framework.
The association has responded to requests from the government concerning announced topics and is committed to maintaining this cooperation.
The government has approved an increase of 350 million euros in the public guarantee for home purchases by young people up to the age of 35, raising the available amount to 1.55 billion euros, according to an official decree.
The decree, signed by the Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, dated September 18 and published on Wednesday, outlines this increase.
In addition to this increase, the decree also granted BPI’s request for an additional 100 million euros from the initially allocated sum.
Moreover, the Caixa de Crédito Agrícola Mútuo de Mafra requested an additional amount of 1.8 million euros.
The public guarantee for housing loans to individuals up to 35 years old covers contracts signed until the end of 2026, allowing the state to guarantee up to 15% of the transaction value as a guarantor.
The government set the maximum amount of the public guarantee at 1.2 billion euros, allocating a quota to each bank, with the option for this amount to be increased should the banks exhaust their quotas and request additional funds, a situation now observed.
On the same day, the Minister of Infrastructure, Pinto Luz, announced discussions with banks aimed at easing access to housing and construction loans and plans to propose further housing measures by December.
“We are working with the Portuguese Banking Association and banks to create new products to ease access to housing credit for Portuguese citizens, and also to facilitate access to capital for construction purposes,” he stated in a press briefing with no follow-up questions during the ongoing Council of Ministers meeting.
The minister further mentioned that the administration led by Luís Montenegro intends to introduce additional measures to address the housing crisis the country is facing, beyond those approved today and in the previous week.
