“We are currently using about 62% of the limit allocated to us for operations that are already effectively formalized with clients, but with the operations we have in the pipeline, we expect to come very close to the limit in the coming months, approximately 90%,” said administrator Francisco Matos during the presentation of the bank’s first-half results.
This sentiment was echoed by bank president João Pedro Oliveira e Costa, who stated that the progress is “very rapid.”
During the period under review, BPI signed 2,500 contracts utilizing the public guarantee for young people’s mortgage credit, granting loans totaling 467 million euros.
When asked about the possibility of requesting an increase in its quota within the public guarantee, the banker admitted this possibility, should the Government express such willingness.
The public guarantee for housing credit to young people up to the age of 35 (inclusive) applies to contracts signed until the end of 2026 and allows the State to guarantee, as a guarantor, up to 15% of the transaction value.
The Government set the maximum amount of the public guarantee at 1.2 billion euros, with a quota allocated to each bank, but opened the possibility for this amount to be reinforced if the banks exhaust it and request this increase.
“I think the State has every advantage in giving young people the capacity to do so, we have demonstrated—and had already stated—that it does not increase the risk for clients nor for the bank, and therefore, if we get there and if it is viable and on the table, we will participate,” the bank’s president added today, expressing surprise at the measure’s success.
In practice, combining this guarantee with the rules for granting housing credit, the measure allows young people to secure 100% of the property’s appraised value, instead of the 90% limit that applies to most clients.
This housing credit guarantee benefits those aged 18 to 35 (inclusive) who are purchasing their first permanent home, with a value not exceeding 450,000 euros.
