Borrowers will not share data
Debtors don’t apply for mortgage installment subsidy in order to preserve banking secrecy
Two in every three borrowers who reached the penultimate step before the final submission of their application to join the mortgage installment subsidy program have canceled it on their own initiative, as a result of which the number of beneficiaries is only 4,527 to date.
This is the program under which banks subsidize 50% of the increase in installments incurred by a vulnerable home loan borrower (or small business loan secured against a main residence) due to rising interest rates. A condition for inclusion in the program is the issuance of a vulnerable borrower certificate, but participation in the program to date contradicts the initial estimates of subsidizing up to 45,000 beneficiaries.
The main reason, according to the banks, is that the majority of beneficiaries are reluctant to press the button for the final submission of the application, essentially refusing to lift their tax and banking secrecy.
As a result, to date, of the 33,267 applications that have almost been completed (out of a total of 81,598 of borrowers who have visited the platform), 23,659 have not proceeded to the final step and have canceled their application, despite the fact that these applications are considered complete.
The disclosure of income and all assets, such as the deposits one has at all banks and not only that to which the debt is owed, is a prerequisite for the evaluation of the application and the approval of the subsidy. Although removal of privacy is one of the first things that a borrower must agree to when submitting the application electronically on the platform created at the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management, it is not actually activated unless they complete and submit their application definitively.
Although the 23,659 applicants had filled in all their details and taken all the steps required to complete the application, they got cold feet right at the end and ultimately canceled the application; the apparent reason, according to the banks, is their reluctance to consent to lifting tax and banking secrecy.
