Sales of housing loans increased by 305.1% y/y to PLN 9.09bn in February 2024, according to data from the Credit Information Bureau (BIK). In volume terms, the number of housing loans granted last month increased by 220.8% y/y to 21,800.
In January-February this year, in volume terms, the number of housing loans granted increased by 259.3% y-o-y to 46.6 thousand, while in value terms it increased by 351.5% y-o-y to PLN 19.37 billion.
“In February 2024, banks granted 21.8 thousand housing loans worth PLN 9.1 billion. Such high sales are influenced by higher creditworthiness. It was mainly contributed to by real wage growth and the lengthening of the average loan period. This, in turn, has translated into a higher value of credit granted. The average amount of a housing loan is now already PLN 417,69 thousand and is 26.3 per cent higher than a year ago. At the same time, it is at a historically record level,” said BIK Group chief analyst Waldemar Rogowski.
The monthly reading of the Home Loan Portfolio Quality Index in February 2024 was 1.45%. Over the last 12 months (February 2023 to February 2024), portfolio quality has improved, as evidenced by a decrease in the Index by (-0.08 percentage points).
“The current Index reading is better than that of a month ago (-0.3 percentage points decrease). The delinquency of PLN loans is at a low level, and loans already made in a high interest rate environment are being repaid very well. In contrast, the quality of loans indexed and denominated to the Swiss franc is deteriorating. However, the reason for this phenomenon is not credit risk, but legal risk related to ongoing litigation,” Rogowski explained.
Source: BIK and ISBnews
