The PS requested this Thursday hearings, in the Budget and Finance Committee, with the Bank of Portugal, the Portuguese Banking Association and the Consumer Protection Association on the impact of the increase in interest rates.

In this request, to which the Lusa agency had access, it is argued that “only with a rigorous diagnosis can the most appropriate solutions be considered to respond to the effective needs of Portuguese families in the context of housing credit”.

In parliamentary plenary session, on the political initiative of the Left Bloc, 12 bills and four resolutions from the bloc’s caucuses, Chega and PCP, and from the PAN and Livre deputies on the rental market, credit effort rate to housing, exceptional banking moratorium regime and the validity of a special contribution on extraordinary profits in the banking sector.

A source from the executive told the Lusa agency that in this debate the Government will be represented by the Secretaries of State for Finance, João Nuno Mendes, and for Housing, Marina Gonçalves.

In the request addressed to the Budget and Finance Committee, the PS points out that “after a prolonged period of negative Euribor interest rates, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided, in July this year, to increase interest rates”.

The ECB raises interest rates by 50 points. Inflation will remain “undesirably high.” Program for debt with conditions and the ECB hopes not to use it

“This decision was made in a context of high inflation, which the ECB seeks to alleviate by raising interest rates, a strategy that should be maintained in the near future,” he justifies.

However, for the socialist caucus, the ECB’s decision “inevitably translates into an increase in the costs of most families with housing loans, since most loans are indexed to Euribor, which raises the concern of the PS Parliamentary Group”.

In this same request, the PS then quotes data provided by the Bank of Portugal, according to which there were around 1.43 million housing credit contracts at the end of 2021, which corresponds to an outstanding balance of 101,300 million euros.

“The risk of default in bank credit, and in particular in bank credit, raises sensitive issues not only from the point of view of household welfare and access to housing, but also from the point of view of stability and resilience of the Bank’s Official Sector. It is true that the available indicators, according to the Bank of Portugal, do not point to a serious scenario for now, but it is essential that this issue be followed closely and in as much detail as possible, not only from the banking point of view. , but also in a broader perspective, which allows an adequate evaluation of the financial capacity of families”, underlines the PS.

The question of the social impact of the current path of interest rate increases, that is, in terms of housing loans, already caused a closed debate last week, in parliament, between the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the coordinator of the Block of To the left, Catarina Martins.

The prime minister denied that there is currently cause for alarm about the ability of most Portuguese families to resist the current trajectory of rising interest rates on home loans, but said he is keeping an eye on the phenomenon.

Earlier, the coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda had warned that the fees of the house have already increased in recent months by about 100 euros — and this in relation to credits of modest value, which, in his opinion, requires immediate state intervention to protect families.

The prime minister, however, ruled out an urgent intervention path with the bank.

“We have been maintaining a dialogue with both the regulator and the banks. We have been monitoring the amount of credit and benefit we have per household and income percentile. At this point, I don’t think there is any reason to be surprised.“, considered the leader of the executive.

Catarina Martins did not like the response she received and commented: “I see that the prime minister is only alarmist when it comes to ensuring that the income of those who live from their work can go up a little.”

“When it comes to holding large economic groups accountable, which in fact have extraordinary profits in this period, then, it seems that the Government is so prudent that everything remains the same,” he added.

PSD wants the Bank of Portugal to clarify the reality of housing credit contracts

The PSD questioned the Bank of Portugal about the “reality of housing credit contracts”, especially the number of contracts with an interest rate indexed to Euribor and contracts with a fixed rate, as well as consumer credit.

According to the request, the goal of the Social Democrats is “know what is the reality in Portugal of housing credit contractsin its various modalities, in addition to obtaining information on the number of consumer credit contracts at a variable rate and respective volume.

In the document, delivered to the Assembly of the Republic, addressed to the Bank of Portugal, and whose first subscriber was the parliamentary leader, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, it is argued that “after the situation of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the values ​​of inflation began a trajectory of global growth.

With the rise in the price index, “the European Central Bank made the decision to raise reference interest rates, a decision that has as a consequence a rise in market interest rates and, therefore, an increase in interest rates. interest on housing and consumer credit contracts. contracts

In this sense, “it is important to understand what the reality is in Portugal, knowing the number of contracts with an interest rate referenced to the Euribor and the number of contracts with a fixed rate”.

“In general, mortgage loans have a contractual interest indexed to Euribor at three, six or 12 months. Thus, over time, the Portuguese with mortgage loans will suffer updates of contractual interest rates, which will mean an increase in their monthly installments. But the same thing can happen in consumer loans”, they argue.

On the other hand, he continues, “together with these contracts, there are others that, as they are not indexed to the Euribor value, have a fixed interest rate, which guarantees debtors a possible greater stability in the value of their installments.”

Specifically, the PSD wants detailed information on the number of contracts with interest indexed to the Euribor at three, six and 12 months, and those with a fixed rate, and the total credit volume associated with these contracts.

The Social Democrats also want to have access to the average value of the applicable fixed interest rate and the number of variable rate consumer credit contracts and the volume of credit involved.

The BE warns that the rise in mortgage interest rates “is already making a dent” in household income

The Left Bloc defended this Thursday that the rise in interest rates on housing loans “is already making a dent” in household income and challenged the PS to approve its proposals, arguing that they are feasible and fair.

“Observing that the rise in interest rates, which has just begun, is already taking its toll on wages hit by inflation, is not alarmism, it is our responsibility”defended the deputy Mariana Mortágua at the opening of a debate in the Assembly of the Republic.

The Left Bloc requested this Thursday the setting of the agenda to discuss proposals that respond to the effects of the rise in housing credit. In addition to the bills of BE, the diplomas of Chega, PCP, PAN and Livre are also debated.

The blocist considered that “an accelerated impoverishment process is underway”, and criticized that “the only thing the Government has to say to those who see poverty approaching, or even eviction behind the door, is to wait for the State budget ”.

Mariana Mortágua said that “there are one million 800 thousand people who look with apprehension, many of them with fear, at the rise in interest rates”, pointing out that the variations in the monthly installment can already exceed this month “the 125 euros that the Government allocated once in that little package to combat inflation”.

“Each of the graduates that we present carries a concrete, feasible and fair proposal to protect people from the increase in bank interest rates,” he said, advocating that “the security of knowing that the salary arrives is not too demanding.” at the end of the month and who protects himself from the greatest indignity of losing every place where he lives”.

In her speech, Mariana Mortágua pointed out that “both the PSD and the PS presented themselves to this debate without their own proposals” and addressed the PS caucus to ask “what do the socialist deputies prefer”: “Approve measures that protect the right to housing or remain at the service of an absolute blockade majority that, like Narcissus, finds anything that is not a mirror ugly”.

Stressing that “people deserve that politics be about solutions and not histrionic ‘bragging’ about the foam of the days”, the deputy pointed out that BE does not bring “mere intentions” to the debate.

BE proposes the extinction of debts if the debtor delivers the home to the bank, the non-seizure of the home in the event of non-payment of credits other than the mortgage, a moratorium regime similar to that in force during the covid-19 pandemic, which the increase interest rates cannot change the effort rate by more than two percentage points and that it cannot exceed 50%, and also a program for a public fund to assume the debts of “debtors in a limit situation” and that these People start renting the house. This fund would be financed through the creation of a tax on excess bank profits.

In a request for clarification, deputy André Pinotes Batista, from the PS, stressed that the government “has presented the most revolutionary structural measures,” but pointed out that “housing policies are not resolved overnight.”

“This Government managed to present good public accounts while developing all these housing policies of which we are proud”, defended the socialist, pointing out that “good will cannot override the supervision of European entities”, under penalty of ” new problems”.

“The central question of the debate is whether we should act exclusively on contractual relationships or whether we should continue, and in our opinion in a much more structural way, a package of measures to stimulate families, and thus the challenge is structurally resolved. .that Your Honor [do BE] here it is launched”, pointed out André Pinotes Batista.

For the PSD, deputy Paulo Rios de Oliveira said that his caucus “has always had the same attitude: listen, alert the government, demand intervention and, faced with the government’s distraction, present proposals.”

And he added that “the PSD, if the Government does nothing, will not fail to present in the coming days, in budgetary terms, concrete measures to support families.”

Carla Castro, from the Liberal Initiative, accused the BE of wanting “do it all inside in the destruction of the real estate market” and wanting to “create incentives for large-scale credit default.”

In response, the BE deputy affirmed that the PS “asks the BE for goodwill but is preparing to reject all the projects” of her party, questioning whether the diplomas can lower the commission so that they can be discussed and eventually changed.