Mortgage loan

The European Commission has approved Greece's home protection scheme, which supports householders who cannot meet mortgage payments and are at risk of losing their primary residence.
The Commission said on Thursday the scheme did not violate state aid rules.

The European Commission has approved a plan for the protection from foreclosure of the primary residence of those who have delinquent mortgage loans.

According to the announcement of the Commission the annual budget for the implementation of the plan is 132mn euros.

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The European Commission said on Thursday it has accepted Greece's plan to protect the primary residencies of debtors who cannot repay their mortgage loan.

"The Commission concluded that, with respect to individuals, including those performing an economic activity, the measure does not involve any state aid," it said in a press release.

Eurobank's effort to bolster the domestic mortgage market by offering products with a fixed rate that ensure an unchanged installment through the repayment period, is seen as an antidote to the uncertainty the decade-long economic crisis has left behind it in Greece.

In 2015, interest in lending returned. Last year and this year it was the strongest, caused by a fall in interest rates. For mortgage loans, interest rates are between 2.75% and 3.3%, which is historically low. This is commented by the credit consultant Tihomir Toshev on BNT.

In consumer lending, most countries in Europe have higher interest rates than Bulgaria.

This led to a rise in the dollar and a decline in Wall Street indices, writes NOVA TV. 

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the first time in eleven years. 

Interest rates, which affect the cost of borrowing for credit cards and mortgages, are now set to hover between 2% and 2.25%.

Efficient financial data reporting helps give consumers access to lending while limiting moral hazard, says Enrique Velazquez, director general of the European Union's Association of Consumer Credit Information Suppliers (ACCIS), in an interview with Kathimerini.

55% of people who do not live in their own home intend to buy one, with nearly half of them indicating housing credit as the primary means of financing it. The data is from a nationally representative online survey conducted by Gemius Bulgaria on Postbank's request. On the second place, 25% of the respondents said that it it is possible to finance the purchase with their own funds.

The bond segment is entering a stage of unprecedented diversification for the local capital market as investors who have had access to corporate, municipal and government bonds so far can trade the first mortgage bonds, Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) CEO Adrian Tanase told a conference on Wednesday.

National Bank of Greece's new program aimed at settling nonperforming housing loans provides for a more aggressive approach to the management of its bad-mortgage portfolio, including debt write-offs.