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Bankers hope in a relaunch of mortgage loans in 2009

Mortgage loans might register a relaunch next year, according to Romanian bankers, who bet on an intervention of a central bank to improve the current crediting conditions on the market for buying or building a house.

Bankers will ask the representatives of the Romanian National Bank (BNR) to plan a meeting for next week to amend the regulation regarding the crediting of the population on the mortgage segment.

'WE are going to meet the representatives of the BNR next week to present them our perspective. We hope that in 2009 the mortgage loans to relaunch, as this segment is currently completely blocked,' Chairman with the Romanian Bankers Association (ARB) Radu Gratian Ghetea said.

He hopes that the BNR will amend the crediting regulation, so that 'the mortgage loans not to be treated the same as the consumption loan anymore.'

On the other hand, Adrian Vasilescu, adviser of the Central Bank Governor declared BNR has informed the banks on the fact that the effects of the new crediting regulation will be checked in three months since the implementation and no earlier.

The crediting market for housing only reached in September 5 billion euros, having blocked totally in November, after the drop by 15-20 percent in the prices for old houses and when more than a third of the potential customers failed to qualify because of the new conditions which are more restrictive.

'Consumers and banks are currently in stand-by, and more cautious. We have no serious demand for mortgage loans. The market will drop even more significantly in fact by the end of the year and I don't think it is possible to have a relaunch of the crediting by the end of 2008. We haven't planned the budget for 2009 yet, but I hope crediting will see a relaunch,' General Manager with Banca Transilvania Robert Rekkers told Business Standard.

Representatives of the banks said, as an average, that the maximum indebtedness rate dropped by approx. 5 percentage points on different categories of customers, with the ARB official saying the impact of the new norms will be significant, especially in the current conditions on the market.

Credit brokers have said too the new conditions are much too restrictive. Chirca Daniel, counselor with the IpoteciDirect broker said that 'most of the banks are now in the situation of not granting loans, maybe because of the crisis threatening us: only 5-6 banks grant loans now.'

Real estate analyst Radu Zilisteanu rold Romania libera daily last year the demand was exceeding the offer and now the situation is upside down, which leads to a drop in the prices for housing. For instance, the a square metre of built surface at the periphery dropped from 2,2000 down to 1,600-1,800 euros.

The local real estate market was seriously affected due to the blockage in the crediting, with 70-80 percent of the new apartments and 50-60 percent of the old once having been financed with mortgage loans. 'With or without the help from the BNR, the banks are unable to grant credits right now, being afraid the prices might drop and nobody knows how much. The market forces banks to be cautious much more than the BNR regulation does it,' Zilisteanu said.

Bucharesters hold now 40 percent of the total loans for housing, worth 5.13 million euros, being followed in the ranking by the people in the Cluj County (cenbtral-west).

 

Sursa: http://www.rompress.ro

Tags: crediting market bnr bankers loans relaunch mortgage banks bet

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