The maximum rates of personal credits, personal cards and credit lines for the purchase of new cars will increase in the third quarter, but will decrease in credits for the purchase of used cars, informed today the Bank of Portugal (BdP).
According to information made available by the BdP on the Bank Customer portal, from July to September, the maximum interest rate for credit cards, lines of credit, bank current accounts and overdraft facilities will be 17.4%, increasing by half a percentage point from 16.9% in the second quarter.
Also the nominal annual interest rate (NAR) in the case of credit overruns increases to 17.4%.
In turn, the maximum annual percentage rate of charge (APR) applicable to credit agreements for the purchase of new cars rises from 4.1% to 4.6% in the case of leasing or ALD, and from 9.5% to 10.2% in loans with retention of title and others.
As for used cars, there is a worsening from 12.7% to 13.2% in loans with title retention and others, while in leasing or ALD the maximum rate to be practiced in this third quarter falls to 5.4%, after having been set at 6.2% in the second quarter.
Loans for education, health, renewable energy, and equipment leasing, on the other hand, will have the maximum rate set at 7.4% between July and September, up from 6.7% in the second quarter.
The “other personal loans” segment sees, on the other hand, the maximum rate worsen from 13.9% to 14.2%.
According to the legislation, the “maximum rates are determined on the basis of the average Annual Percentage Rates of Charge (APR) applied in the market by credit institutions in the previous quarter, plus one quarter, and may not exceed the average APR for all consumer credit contracts plus 50%,” the BdP underlined.
The maximum rate regime also provides that the maximum APR for overdraft facility agreements with a repayment obligation within one month and the maximum nominal annual rate (APR) for overdrafts are equal to the maximum APR defined for credit agreements in the form of an overdraft facility with a repayment period of more than one month.
