ZBP: 5% of Poles intend to take advantage of the 'Safe loan 2%' offer in 2023.

Plans to take advantage of the offer under the "Security credit 2%" program is intended to be used by the end of 2023 5% of Poles, according to the Mind&Roses survey conducted on behalf of the Polish Bank Association (ZBP). 6% of respondents intend to buy an apartment for cash, and 3% use the loan on traditional terms.

In a public opinion survey conducted in October this year, respondents were asked about plans related to the purchase of real estate in 2023. 86% of people said they had no such plans. 6% of respondents said they planned to buy an apartment or house by the end of the year using the collected funds. 5% of respondents intend to take advantage of the “Safe Credit 2%” offer. The smallest percentage of people (3%) plans to take out a mortgage on standard terms, according to the report "InfoKredyt 2023".

As indicated in the report, in September 17.6% more housing loans were granted compared to the previous year, and their value increased by 232.7 percent. The average value of the requested housing loan is currently PLN 410.4 thousand and is 21.9% higher than a year ago. The increase in interest in mortgages is mainly due to the "Safe 2% credit" program.

The report states that in September this year alone, under this year, banks granted 9316 loans (51% of all loans granted) for the amount of PLN 3,744 billion (52% of the total amount of loans granted). Rising property prices are also accelerating the decision to take out a housing loan of people who, for formal reasons, cannot be beneficiaries of the government program. Since July, 67,814 credit applications have been submitted, which have resulted in 30429 contracts. The average loan amount is currently PLN 397.3 thousand. Currently, "Safe 2% credit" has 13 banks in its offer.

“The credit market has changed radically and, interestingly, the situation on it remains very dynamic. The once uninteresting in mortgage loans with a temporary fixed interest rate suddenly fired as inflation began to rise to become less attractive after a few months of inflation. Only a few years ago, the interest rate on the loan above 8% was considered extremely high. Today, if the interest rate on the mortgage is below 8%, this should be considered a favorable offer," said Przemysław Barbrich, director of the Communications and PR Team ZBP.

In 2023, banks reported 1,144 million accounts covered by a loan holiday worth PLN 283 billion. The costs of credit holidays for the years 2022-2023 amounted to a total of about PLN 15 billion, including PLN 12.9 billion of the reserves created, applied to 2022, and PLN 2.1 billion in 2023. It is estimated that credit holidays reduced the performance of banks in 2022 by PLN 7.8 billion. To take advantage of credit holidays without any income criterion, the eligible were approx. 3.4 million borrowers, and about 2 million people took advantage of the holidays, also reported.

According to the InfoKreditt report, households’ debt to the banking sector was at the end of September 2023. PLN 744.2 billion and was less by over PLN 43 billion compared to September 2022.

Poles, when asked about the objectives of the consumer loans, most often indicate the renovation of the apartment / house (83%), repayment of other liabilities (57%) and current needs (54%). Despite lower interest rates, inflation, which persists above the target, does not encourage Poles to take out consumer loans, it was reported.

When assessing their financial situation in the past year, 82% of Poles did not feel it improved. This translates into the savings of Poles. Almost half of Poles will not save anything in the coming months, it is also reported.

InfoKredyt is a study prepared by the Polish Bank Association, in a synthetic way presenting and analysing the most important trends and data related to the loan market in Poland. Report based on selected statistical data from the Bank Monitor and external data from such institutions as: Credit Information Bureau, Polish Financial Supervision Authority, Central Statistical Office, European Central Bank, National Bank of Poland.

Source: ZBP and ISBnews