The mortgage payment paid to the bank rises again in February in variable rate contracts, with an increase of almost 200 euros expected over the six-month period compared to the latest revisions, according to the simulation by Deco/Dinheiro&Direitos.
Thus, a customer with a 150-year loan worth €30, indexed to the six-month Euribor – the most used in home loan contracts in Portugal – and with a 'spread' (the bank's profit margin) of 1%, it will pay 703,90 euros from February, which translates into an increase of 188,66 euros compared to the last revision in August.
In the case of a loan under the same conditions (amount and repayment term), but indexed to the three-month Euribor, the customer now pays 660,66 euros, 73,58 euros more than in November.
These values were calculated taking into account the Euribor averages in January of 2,858% for six months and 2,345% for three months.
As for loans indexed to the 12-month Euribor, the mortgage payment – for a loan under the aforementioned conditions – will be 745,57 euros from February, an increase of 295,27 euros compared to what you have been paying since January 2022.
In this case, the value was calculated taking into account the average of the 12-month Euribor in December, which was 3,337%.
The evolution of Euribor interest rates is closely linked to increases or decreases in ECB interest rates.
After several years in negative territory, the Euribor began to rise more significantly since February 04th, after the European Central Bank (ECB) admitted that it could raise the key interest rates due to the increase in inflation in the euro zone.
Since then, the ECB has already increased the key rates four times, which means an increase in the amount that customers pay for loans, first of all for home loans, which has left many families in difficulty. Sector sources told Lusa that banks have had many contacts from customers who want to renegotiate credits so that the increase in the monthly installment is not so great.
Faced with the worsening cost of housing loans, the Government approved a diploma that sets out the conditions under which banks must propose to customers a credit renegotiation in order to avoid default situations. The measures are in effect from November 26, 2022 to the end of 2023.
According to the Bank of Portugal, mortgage loan contracts renegotiated under the new Action Plan for Default Risk (PARI) are considered “regular renegotiation”, without “any specific marking” in the Credit Responsibilities Central (the list on defaulting bank customers accessed by all banks).
However, the consumer protection association Deco has warned that there are banks to discourage customers from using the transitional regime that allows them to renegotiate the loan, with the argument that they will remain with the 'signaled' credit.
Although banks cannot flag these customers as non-compliant in the Credit Responsibilities Central, various sources in the sector told Lusa that these customers are referenced in the internal systems of each bank, which may make it difficult to access that bank's credit products in the future.
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