Czech banks have the lowest ratio of bad property loans in their portfolios in Europe, alongside Swedish banks, according to KPMG Property’s Lending Barometer 2015 report. KPMG expects a steep increase in property investment, with Czech banks being increasingly more open to finance speculative projects, especially in the industrial and warehouse sectors. Residential is another sector that’s attractive to banks, while office is less interesting due to the market’s oversupply. Czech banks are more interested in financing completed, income-producing projects, than those still in development, according to the report. This is different from Poland, where there is lack of completed product, and banks finance new projects in construction stages. Nine out of 10 Czech banks are open to grant syndicated loans to finance properties, which is the highest number in Europe, alongside Austrian banks, according to KPMG.
