“National Policy Bank Polski (NBP) exacerbates the problems of borrowers more and more. The government is trying to relieve them, but the implemented measures have not been well received by everyone, “writes Daniel Imwinkelried in the weekend edition of the leading German daily” Handelsblatt “.
The author informs that from the beginning of August, they have been in force in Poland “credit holidays“and explains that people with mortgage loans will be able to postpone the repayment of the loan installment eight times by the end of 2023.
Economist Piotr Kuczyński from Warsaw’s Xelion Investment House, quoted by the editors, believes that the government’s policy is “ridiculous”. In his opinion, from the fact that installments credits they will only be moved, while banks will not suffer financial losses in the medium term, but they will lose “a large amount of liquidity”. As the author points out, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki estimates the cost at PLN 20 billion, i.e. EUR 4.19 billion.
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Turek: Credit holidays are a solution for people who now have a problem with repayment of installments
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Discounts for everyone
Piotr Kuczyński also criticizes the government’s principle of equal distribution of the tax relief. FROM holidays all debtors are to benefit from credit cards, regardless of their financial situation. Moreover, many owners nieruchomo¶ci until recently, it made great use of low interest.
Daniel Imwinkelried recalls that inflation rose to 15.6 percent in June. (according to the Central Statistical Office, 15.5 percent – editorial note). The NBP is trying to fight the rise in prices by pursuing a policy “slightly tougher than the ECB (European Central Bank)”, assesses the journalist “Handelsblatt”. The reference rate in Poland increased to 6.5%, which is the highest level in 17 years.
The NBP governor made a mistake, like everyone else
“For Poles, this rapid increase (in interest rates) is a surprise” – emphasizes the author, recalling that the President of the National Bank of Poland Adam Glapiński announced in 2020 that an interest rate increase is not expected. “He was wrong, like all the presidents of issuing banks” – noted Daniel Imwinkelried.
According to “Handelsblatt”, for Poles receiving “relatively low salary“The policy of the NBP is becoming a bigger problem. As Piotr Kuczyński explains, about 90% of mortgage loans in Poland have a variable interest rate, which means that many borrowers have to pay much higher monthly installments due to the higher inflation rate.
The basis for calculating the interest rate for banks is WIBOR (Warsaw Interbank Offer Rate), to which a margin is added. From last October, WIBOR increased from 0.2 percent. up to 7 percent “Ownership housing in Poland has become more expensive” – concludes the author.
Dirty election campaign
The economic and social effects of rising interest rates are clearly a problem for the government, Handelsblatt estimates. From the point of view of the authorities, high inflation is all the more dangerous as elections are to be held in the autumn of 2023. Already now everything indicates that it will be a dirty electoral fight between the ruling PiS party and the liberal-conservative opposition of Donald Tusk’s PO.
Tusk planned even greater reliefs for borrowers than those forced by Morawiecki. He proposed to freeze mortgage rates at the level of December 2021, without prejudging who – the state or the banks – would cover the costs of the difference between the market rate and the maximum limit set.
Morawiecki threatens banks
The Polish government did not want to go that far, although middle-class mortgage holders are considered voters with changing political preferences. For this reason, both major political camps want to win them over to their side, we read in Handelsblatt.
Morawiecki, on the other hand, struck a “rough tone” towards the financial sector. The prime minister threatened that any attempt by the banks to disrupt the government’s activities would be punished. “I saw the banks’ first semester results, they are very good, we do not have to feel sorry for them,” quotes the head of government “Handelsblatt”.
Morawiecki was a banker himself – comments Kuczyński. “He probably knows that banks are not the darlings of society.”
The article comes from the site German wave
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