Aversion toward mortgages

Greece continues to have the worst performance in household credit, registering a consistently negative rate, which was -1.7% in January against a 0.3% increase in the eurozone, according to a report published on Thursday by DBRS Morningstar, focusing on the "slow production of new mortgage loans."

The rise in interest rates and high inflation have made the growth rate of loans in the eurozone shrink, as it plunged from 4.5% in the first half of 2022 to a marginally positive rate in 2023. This contrasts with a steady contraction in Greece, due to large repayments exceeding new disbursements.

The aversion to borrowing by households is observed despite the fact that the vast majority of new mortgage disbursements in Greece are at fixed interest rates, which, through successive reductions made by Greek banks recently, have fallen to historic lows. 

Fixed term...