The ultimate model for the mortgage market is fixed-rate loans for 10-15 years, according to the debate “How to reduce the legal risk of home loans” during the 13th European Financial Congress in Sopot.
“Banks have exercised due diligence to formulate the terms of a mortgage agreement that meets these conditions, which is what the team is working on, and yet the terms of these agreements are now being challenged. But they are challenged in specific situations – for example, in the case of PLN loans they are challenged when rates rise. A floating-rate contract is considered abusive, just because it is floating-rate,” ING Bank Śląski vice-president Bożena Graczyk said during the debate.
“Clauses are used as a pretext to undermine long-standing contracts. We are dealing with instrumental use of abusiveness in a situation where we have the same regulations as other countries under EU law,” Tadeusz Białek, President of the Polish Banks Association, added.
According to PKO Bank Polski vice-president Piotr Mazur, the banking community should work out a new model for the mortgage market.
“We are very close to taking final decisions. The way I see this market is that we have fixed rate loans for a period of 10-15 years. Whoever wants to refinance the loan should pay for it is paying for it. It is a question of long-term financing and positions on our balance sheets,”Mazur said.
He stressed that he was allowing for the possibility that a certain group of more MiFID III-conscious customers, which he described as ‘MiFID III’, taking out a home loan most often for investment purposes, should be able to take out a loan with some elements of risk, such as on a variable rate.
Source: ISBnews
Photo: ING Bank Śląski vice-president Bożena Graczyk
