2023-08-11 06:02:40
Very little is known about the aid for mortgaged people, which was put into operation by mutual agreement by the banks and the Spanish Government on January 1st pFor those vulnerable families who could not afford to pay their mortgage after the continuous increases in interest rates and the Euribor. Vice President Nadia Calviño revealed in June that the sector had received some 33,000 applications, but that 40% of them were not intended for the Code of Good Practices for mortgage debtors at risk of vulnerability (but the previous one, that of 2012) and that the number was not very precise.
A month later, the financial director of Banco Santander, José García Cantera, highlighted the same figure during the presentation of results, “some 33,000 applications have been received at the sector level”, although he avoided giving details of how many of them had been in his bank when asked. It has not been the only entity to avoid the question, in fact, only 2 of the 9 large banks in the country have revealed their data.
CaixaBank has been one of them. The bank run by Gonzalo Gortázar has received 5,600 applications in the first semester, 17% of the total, a figure that is in line with its market share, since it is the largest bank in the country and the one with the most clients; Bankinter was the second and last, the entity led by María Dolores Dancausa he has barely received 150 in six months.
The rest of the banks, who have been asked at press conferences and also afterwards, have denied revealing their figures. “The data is not public”, has been the common response Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, Unicaja, Abanca, Kutxabank and Ibercaja to this medium when they have been insisted. Therefore, the only official figure that is known so far is that of 33,000 applications, a figure that of course contrasts quite a bit with the estimates of the Spanish Government itself, which expected that the aid would reach 1 million households between 2023 and 2024.
The excuse: “it is preventive”
“We always said that the Code of Good Practices was preventive. When it was agreed in November there was no problem of default and now the economy has better prospects, making it even more preventive. But it is there and it will be used. It is good to have it prepared for the needs of the debtors”, this has been the response of Alejandra Kindelán, President of the Spanish Banking Associationeach time it has been asked for the reason for this low reception and if it believed it was necessary to modify it.
His response has been along the same lines as that of the bankers. “We have all been surprised that there is not much adherence, but it is also true that there is no more delinquency among those whose mortgage payment has risen. In addition, those who took a mortgage before 2011 at a variable rate are taking advantage of it to repay it,” he commented. the CEO of Sabadell, César González-Bueno.
“There are two issues, one is that the economy is doing better and the other is that jobs are being created. In addition, the real estate sector is far from the bubble and the fundamentals are good”, indicated the CEO of CaixaBankwho understands that all these reasons “incentivize” debtors to pay their mortgage, which is why delinquency has not increased nor has there been a mass request to take advantage of the Code.
Gonzalo Gortázar also assured that mortgages “have not risen 300 euros a month” as is being said, in the case of CaixaBank, 65% of those in their portfolio are variable and have become more expensive “of at most 110 euros if the Euribor reaches 4.5% ”, something that has not happened. “Some will go up more, but the average is not that, and whoever goes up that logically we want to give the Code or the conversion to a fixed rate. But we don’t have a massive problem, ”he insisted.
For all these reasons, the bank does not believe that the Code is poorly drafted or that it needs to be modified, but the government does. Vice President Calviño slipped it in June after a meeting with the sector, and before that, President Pedro Sánchez himself had also proposed it. Specifically, extend the term of mortgages up to seven years to families with income equal to or less than 37,800 euros per year so that they can save 300 euros per month or 3,600 euros per year. Although these promises were made in the campaign and everything will depend on whether the Socialist Party remains in charge of the Government and the bank yields.
The Bank of Spain warned that it would not even reach half
The Bank of Spain published a report in April where it revealed that the number of mortgaged households that could benefit from the Code of Good Practices (under the conditions that were signed) if the rates reached 4% (they are already at 4.25%) would be about 550,000, a “significant” figure, pointed out the supervisor, but of course very far from what was foreseen by the Ministry of Economy itself. Specifically, 45% less because Calviño announced in December that it was designed to help 1 million families.
Another vice president, Yolanda Díaz, has been much clearer than Calviño. “The Code of Good Practice is not working“, he recently stated, “I speak with data and it is evidence.” The leader of Sumar assures that families are having a hard time because they pay between 300 and 400 euros more since the rates went up (although CaixaBank denies it) and if you help them it is not working is because of how they are raised, because of their demanding requirements.
Díaz, who sees “risks” for the financial institutions themselves in the medium term, believes that it will be more feasible to give direct aid, specifically, proposes a check of 1,000 euros for vulnerable mortgagees that they demonstrate that the fee has risen; But not only from the Executive they see that something is failing, also the user associations, in fact, Asufin He has denounced on several occasions the work that is put on clients who want to adhere to the Code.
The first voice of alarm was given by those who claimed that the bank wanted to charge them to change their mortgage from variable to fixed, when this should be free, as agreed. But Asufin also highlights that families with guaranteed mortgages do not end up benefiting from relief measures and has asked the bank to open its hand and be more tolerant.
Given the context, Vice President Calviño has insisted to the bank and the supervisor the possibility of introducing improvements in the Code so that it reaches more families. However, both the Bank of Spain and the financial sector have considered it “premature” to take any step and they have been set to September to study possible recalibrations.
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