During the press conference of the Polish Bank Association, its vice-president Agnieszka Wachnicka presented her opinion on the government program “#naStart housing loan”. Consultations are currently underway on the bill that will introduce this program.
“The program will increase credit availability to a rather limited extent,” said the vice-president of the Polish Bank Association.
She presented calculations showing that the largest loan can be obtained by a client who decides to take out financing for the purchase of an apartment based on a periodically fixed interest rate.
“With decreasing installments, the loan amount that can be obtained is lower,” Wachnicka pointed out. She added that the loan installment under the program will be very similar to the loan installment with a fixed interest rate taken out on commercial terms.
The vice-president of the Polish Bank Association pointed out that during the support period, the borrower will pay a fixed installment, because the rest will be paid by the state, but added that the benefits for borrowers will result mainly from the fact that the loan will be based on decreasing installments. She also pointed out that the greatest benefits from the program will be drawn by large families.
Criticism of the “#naStart Housing Loan” program
She also presented the ZBP's comments on the draft law on this matter. According to the union representatives, it is necessary to extend the vacatio legis of the act by at least 3 months (currently, the draft states that the act will enter into force 30 days after its announcement). In addition, the project states that under the program support can be obtained both for a housing loan and a consumer loan intended for housing purposes. The Polish Bank Association pointed out that banks' behavior in the case of these two types of loans is regulated by two separate acts and recommendations of the financial supervision.
Agnieszka Wachnicka added that given the income thresholds currently proposed in the project, the group of people who will be able to use the #naStart loan will include people who can currently obtain financing on market conditions. She also assessed that the provision under which business activity cannot be conducted in the premises for 3 years will exclude entire professional groups practicing freelance professions from support. Moreover, the Polish Bank Association pointed out that another provision under which non-resident foreigners will be able to benefit from the program will force banks to create additional verification procedures, which will extend the program implementation process.
Finally, in the opinion of bankers, the project should increase support for people with more than one child. As Agnieszka Wachnicka pointed out, in their current wording the regulations do not provide a significant possibility of increasing the square footage of the apartment purchased under the program in relation to two-person families.
Under the #naStart housing loan program, the government will subsidize part of the housing loan or consumer loan taken out for housing purposes. The value of the subsidies will depend on the number of people in the household – the more children, the higher the subsidies. Also, the size of the premises purchased on credit with additional payment will depend on the number of children. (PAP)
author: Marek Siudaj
