The banking supervisor announces every quarter the maximum interest rates that banks and other financial institutions can apply when entering into consumer credit contracts, setting the upper limits of the annual percentage rate of charge (APRC) for each category of contracts.
The figures released today by the Bank of Portugal (BdP) pertain to the ceilings that cannot be exceeded in contracts to be signed in January, February, and March 2026.
In the case of personal credit agreements for home and construction projects, including building and property rehabilitation, the maximum rate is currently 15.6% for the last quarter of 2025 and will remain unchanged in the first quarter of the next year.
The maximum rate for personal loans related to education, health, energy transition, and equipment leasing will be 8.3%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the fourth quarter of this year (8.6%).
In automobile credit, where different values apply depending on the purchase method, some rates will rise while others will fall.
For financial leasing or long-term vehicle rental (ALD) contracts for new vehicles, the maximum rate will be 5.1%, below the current 5.4% this quarter.
Similarly, for financial leasing or ALD of used vehicles, the maximum rate will be 6.5%, down from the current 6.9%.
For credit contracts for the purchase of new cars and other vehicles, the maximum rate will increase from the current 10.8% to 10.9%.
Conversely, for contracts to purchase used cars and other vehicles, the maximum limit will decrease from the current 14.2% this quarter to 14.1% in the first quarter of 2026.
For credit cards, credit lines, bank current accounts, and overdrafts, the maximum rate will rise from 18.8% to 18.9%.
When a client exceeds their credit limit, resulting in an overdraft, the maximum rate banks can charge will be 18.9%, slightly higher than the current 18.8%.
In a note on its website, the Bank of Portugal emphasizes that the maximum rates defined for each type of credit “are determined based on the average APRC applied by credit institutions in the previous quarter, plus a quarter, and cannot exceed the average APRC of all consumer credit contracts plus 50%.”
According to the central bank, “the maximum rates regime also stipulates that the maximum APRC for overdraft contracts with a repayment obligation within one month and that the maximum nominal annual rate (TAN) for credit overruns should be equal to the maximum APRC defined for credit contracts in the form of overdrafts with repayment periods longer than one month.”
