Working group conclusions: Bank clients don't need to worry
Last update: 16.08.2023 11:00
The situation in the mortgage market is not as dramatic as some politicians make it out to be. The increase in repayments will be minimal for the vast majority of clients and the banks will help if there are problems. These are also the conclusions of the working group of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, the National Bank of Slovakia and the Slovak Banking Association.
The working group has produced a comprehensive analysis of the mortgage market which clearly shows that there is no reason to fear an extreme increase in mortgage repayments. A detailed analysis of the NBS shows that the refix will affect about 350 thousand mortgages in the next two years, but bank clients do not have to worry.
Of all the loans mentioned, the majority will be those where the repayment will increase by a maximum of EUR 100. Overall, 66% of loans fall into this category. A further 23% can expect an increase of up to EUR 200 and, for example, only 3% of the total can expect an increase of more than EUR 300. However, this group of mortgages is very specific. These are mostly young, high-income individuals with two properties in the Bratislava region.
“When we look at who will see their repayments rise the most, we're talking about high-income individuals from Bratislava who were given loans from banks on exemptions from the rules because they were deemed creditworthy. Often, apparently, these are their second or additional properties. So, these are not typically poor, multi-child families. In our opinion, therefore, the state should probably not bail out high-income speculators or take on the excessive risk of banks,” said Minister of Finance Michal Horváth.
For this reason, the Ministry of Finance does not consider across-the-board aid to be justified. In fact, the banks assured that any problems would be dealt with individually. If clients want to know how their repayment will change after the end of the fixed-rate period, they can use the informative calculation on the mortgage calculator published on the website of the Slovak Banking Association, where they can also find specific recommendations.
“Having familiarised ourselves with the in-depth analysis of the NBS, we can conclude that we see no reason for across-the-board measures. There are always isolated cases that need to be dealt with, but bank representatives assured us that they have processes and mechanisms in place to deal with such cases. The first priority is to avoid serious family tragedies or difficult situations. Banks deal with and have dealt with such cases in the past, even in much more difficult times during the pandemic,” added Minister of Finance Michal Horváth
Video: Minister of Finance Michal Horváth's statement on the topic can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV0w4a7o1Oo
The complete NBS analysis of the mortgage market can be found here: https://nbs.sk/aktuality/narast-splatok-hypotek-pocitia-vsetky-dotknute-domacnosti-no-zvladnu-to/
The SBA's advice to clients when refixing mortgages can be found here: https://www.sbaonline.sk/novinka/rady-pre-klientov-pri-refixacii-hypotek/
The SBA Refix Calculator will be published here: https://www.sbaonline.sk/refixaciahypotek/
Press Department
Ministry of Finance of the SR