Vice President Yolanda Díaz says that the agreement with the entities “can be improved” while the head of Economy extols that they are “responsible and important” measures
The economic vice president, Nadia Calvinohas expressed its confidence that “all financial institutions” sign the two voluntary codes of good conduct finalized this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers to alleviate the burden of around a million families with mortgages with difficulties currently have to meet the payment of the monthly installments due to the rapid and intense rise in interest rates this year. “It is time to pitch in and help families that may be affected,” Calviño said at the press conference after the Minister council. At the government meeting an agreement has been adopted to improve and expand the Code of Good Practices for families vulnerable, with annual income of three times the IPREM (up to 25,200 euros), which was already launched in 2012; it has also been adopted a new voluntary code in support of homes middle class mortgaged, with annual income of up to 3.5 times the IPREM (29,400 euros).
As explained by the vice president, financial institutions will now have a period of one month to express their adhesion or not to these voluntary codes, with the purpose that the different measures to alleviate the mortgage burden of families can be implemented from January 1. The codes are voluntary but after their adhesion they become mandatory for the entities that subscribe to them. In addition, the new Customer Defense Authority (whose creation is planned in a bill also approved this seas by the Council of Ministers) will have among its tasks to monitor its compliance. The mortgage package adopted this Tuesday by the Government also includes a royal decree with general measures to facilitate the Mortgage change from variable to fixed and to eliminate throughout 2023 the commissions for early repayment and change of the mortgage loan to a fixed rate.
In general, the main relief measures incorporated in each of the two voluntary codes of conduct revolve around the possible lengthening of grace periods and payment terms for groups that meet certain conditions. In particular, the code for vulnerable families also expands the possibilities of dation in payment and the use of the property in the form of a social rental prior to its delivery to the financial institution.
Criticism of United We Can
“They are agreements of the entire Council of Ministers. We have been working intensively with all financial entities to protect more than a million families. This responsible and intense work with financial institutions and with the Bank of Spain has resulted in a very broad and important package of measures”. This is how Vice President Calviño reacted when asked about the criticism of the mortgage measures expressed by the members government of United We Can.
The Third Vice President and Minister of Labour, Yolanda Diaz, has considered that the agreement with the bank is “substantially improvable”. From his point of view, the measures adopted hardly represent “a small step”, which has nothing to do with the response that United We Can defend against the rise in the Euribor. “From the rise in the Euribor to today, the estimated benefits of financial institutions from the increase in the Euribor amount to 8,000 million euros, ergo, financial institutions are benefiting like never before from the rise in interest rates,” Diaz stated. Also the Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarrahas demanded through twitter “more ambitious and mandatory measures for banks that allow us to support all families”.
lukewarmness in entities
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Vice President Calviño has called on entities to “pitch their shoulders” after the lukewarm reception of the measures expressed this Tuesday by the bank representatives who had participated in the XXIX Financial Sector Meeting organized by Deloitte, ABC and Sociedad of Appraisal. However, the CEO of the Banco Santander, Jose Antonio Alvarez, affirmed that the entity’s intention is to adhere to the pact and “work so that the mortgage market is healthy and solid”, although it clarified that they are still pending “the discussions are over”. More concise was the CEO of the BBVA, Onur Genç, who assured that they are still “working” and did not want to go into details about the possible text. According to Vice President Calviño, caixabank (entity in which the State is the second shareholder) “has already said that it is going to sign it”.
In the same financial forum, the president of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), Alejandra Kindelan, He has ensured that the agreement between the banks and the Government to alleviate mortgage holders in Spain affected by the rate rise has to fit within a regulatory and supervisory framework and preserve “the benefits and strengths” of the mortgage market. Kindelán has preferred to wait to see the texts finally adopted this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers before expressing a clearer opinion on its scope.