Credit concession for house loans boosts, hits €10BN in 2018
Housing credit concession accelerated in 2018, having reached highs not registered since 2010, according to the Bank of Portugal.
Housing credit hit a new record last year. Banks have made almost € 10 billion available in home-buying loans, says Banco de Portugal, the Portuguese central bank. This is a new high since 2010.
According to the entity led by Carlos Costa, in December alone, banks granted 903 million euros in housing loans. This is the highest value registered in the last five months, which puts the total amount of credit for home purchases conceded last year at 9,835 million euros.
This amount represents a new high since 2010, the year before Portugal’s requested financial assistance, and signals the persistent increase in home loans. The total amount of housing loans granted in 2018 corresponds to an increase of 19% in comparison to 2017.
This means that, despite the recommendations made by the BdP, there is an accentuated increase in housing loans. Since the beginning of July, a set of recommendations has been put in force by the entity led by Carlos Costa, whose objective is to ensure that the credit available to families takes into account criteria to prevent situations of over-indebtedness.
