Polish banks to ditch mortgages in euros?

Banks have already ceased to offer mortgages in Swiss francs, and the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper claims that soon, such transactions will only be carried out in Polish zloty.

The daily notes that Nordea Bank will be the first to follow the policy of BPH.

“Loans in foreign currency are no longer fashionable and profitable, so the tendency to restrict such offers seems to be a natural step,” Szymon Ozog of Espirito Santo Bank told the paper.

Analyst Halina Kochalska highlighted that clients who had bought flats on loans in foreign currencies often faced bitter consequences.

“Even though they are repaying their loans over several years, [the sums] have not decreased, rather they have increased,” she said.

2012 will also see a reduction in maximum loan rates that clients can take with banks. As of next year, customers will only be able to take loans to the tune of 42 percent of their net annual income. (nh)