Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank enters housing loan programme
Serbian Minister of Finance Mladjan Dinkic and Director of the National Corporation for Housing Loan Insurance Aleksandar Jovic signed today with the members of the managing board of Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank Markus Ferstl and Vladimir Cupic an agreement on approving favourable housing loans to citizens below 45 years of age.
So far, besides Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank, the following banks have entered the Serbian government’s programme of subsidised housing loans: Raiffeisen Bank, ProCredit Bank, Societe Generale Bank, Metals Bank, Novodsadska Bank and Kontinental Bank.
Following the signing of the agreement, Dinkic said that since September 15, 377 applications for subsidised housing loans have been submitted, out of which 222 have been approved.
Dinkic pointed out that loans granted so far total €30,000. He added that some applications have been rejected due to fabricated income data stated in the application documents and said that criminal charges will be pressed against those citizens.
The minister expressed expectations that by next year, when the new law on mortgage comes into practice, many more citizens will qualify for bank loans towards housing purchase or construction.
As of today, Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank will offer housing loans tied to euros and a lowered interest rate, as well as those indexed in Swiss francs.
According to Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank Deputy General Manager Vladimir Cupic, those citizens who apply for loans indexed in Swiss francs will be able to convert it to a loan indexed in euros at any time.
The novelty in Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank’s housing loan system is that the repayment period for non-subsidised loans has been extended to up to 30 years, as well as the age limit for applicants, who now must not be over 68 at the moment of paying the last instalment.
The other banks within the programme of subsidised housing loans are granting loans with a repayment period up to 25 years.
The housing loans range from €10,000 to €100,000, at the equivalent in dinars, and are granted to citizens below 45 years of age. The total annual interest rate is 4.45 percent, while the effective interest rate totals 6.25 percent. The beneficiary of the loan will need to contribute a 10 percent down payment, while the state subsidy totals 20 percent of the loan and the bank provides the other 70 percent.