April lending news Spain

Loans in Spain

Whilst confusion still reigns in terms of what impact new regulation in Spain will have Aprils loan figures for mortgages in Spain showed little growth over last year and last month.

Regional growth stagnates

Many regions saw decreases in terms of numbers of new loans and with little increases in average loan sizes capital lent also fell.

Many of the key regions are struggling although do remain up year on year due to a good first couple of months only Andalucia is well up on last years figures.

Interest rates drop

Fixed rate mortgage product types grew as a percentage of total lending and average fixed rates and variable rates fell within the month and are down on last year.

New regulation and lack of clarity around what must be done and by when has slowed down the mortgage application process and some lenders have removed fixed rate opportunities for certain applicants due to the new requirement to allow currency switching at a later date.

Read the full article : - House lending news Spain

New mortgage legislation in Spain

New loan rules for Spain

As from June 16th 2019 new Spanish loan legislation is applicable by law in Spain.

The new rules are part of an EU directive to bring member states in line with each other and provide a more transparent and consumer protected mortgage process across the whole of Europe.

What will the changes mean

There are a number of changes some of which have already been implemented by the lenders in Spain and other areas that will require new processes are undertaken.

The changes cover many aspects from costs that can be applied to the borrower, how TAE ( APR) is calculated and early repayment penalties.

Will changes affect speed of process 

The changes also require that the customers are better informed of the options they have, have a minimum cooling off period and ensure by way of checklist the Notary must have in place that it is understood by the borrower what they are contracting.

As with all new legislation some of the changes will make getting and completing on a mortgage in Spain more complicated and slower but in general most is a move in the right direction for consumer protection.

Spanish Banks yet to implement all changes

Spanish Banks have not as yet published how they will adopt the requirements going forward and we expect this to happen shortly as the law becomes official in a couple of weeks.

Read the full article :- Changes to Spanish Mortgage regulation