Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President Viktoria Strakhova has proposed that at the legislative level a possibility of writing off or restructuring part of mortgage loans is prescribed and a possibility of including such losses in claims for banks against Russia is considered.
“As a banker, it is difficult to initiate and offer this, but as a person it is necessary. We should resolve the issue of writing off or restructuring part of mortgage loans through a legislative decision. Additionally, we should consider the possibility of including such losses (for banks, along with other loans) in the requirements for reparations to the Russian Federation/damages,” she wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
According to her, 30% of the available mortgages were issued for buildings in Hostomel, Irpen, Bucha, which were most affected by Russia’s actions.
Strakhova said that it is necessary to develop a standardized system to solve this problem.
She was supported by MP from the Holos parliamentary faction Yaroslav Zhelezniak, according to whom there is no other option for mortgages now.
State-owned Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) issued mortgage loans totaling UAH 1.25 billion, which is 3.1 times more than in 2020 (UAH 401.8 million), the bank’s press service reported on Tuesday, January 18.
According to the report, the bank issued more than 1,500 mortgage loans, including 327 loans worth UAH 325 million for the purchase of housing in the primary market and 1,220 loans worth UAH 925 million for the purchase of housing in the secondary market.
It is indicated that under the Affordable Mortgage 7% program, since the beginning of its operation, the bank has issued 257 loans in the amount of UAH 250 million.
JSB Ukrgasbank was founded in 1993. The state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, owns 94.94% of the shares of the financial institution.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of October 1, 2021, Ukrgasbank ranked fifth (UAH 121.19 billion) in terms of total assets among 71 banks operating in the country.
The State Oschadbank (Kyiv) has issued a thousand mortgage loans in the amount of UAH 710 million since the beginning of 2021, which is three times more than in the corresponding period last year, the bank’s press service said on Tuesday.
According to the report, in June, 250 loans were issued in the amount of UAH 191 million.
It is indicated that under the “Affordable Mortgage 7%” program the bank has issued 90 loans in the amount of UAH 82 million since the beginning of the year.
According to the statistics of the National Bank, as of March 1, 2021, in terms of total assets, Oschadbank ranked second in the rating (UAH 279.702 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
In March-May this year, the authorized banks issued 351 loans under the Affordable Mortgage 7% program for a total of UAH 297 million, the Finance Ministry has said.
“As of May 31 of this year, authorized banks for the implementation of the Affordable Mortgage 7% program signed 351 loan agreements for a total amount of UAH 297.3 million, both on the primary [24.28%] and secondary [75.72%] housing markets,” the Ministry of Finance said in a message on its website on Monday.
According to its data, the largest number of applications comes in a regional perspective from Kyiv (36%) and Kyiv region (28%).
Over the past week, the number of issued loans increased by 15%, and the amount of loans by 17%, while the growth of applications in terms of amount and number was 7%, the ministry said.
Some 14 banks are authorized to work under the Affordable Mortgage 7% program. It has been operating since March 1, 2021.
Alfa-Bank at an auction held on the ProZorro.Sales platform on September 17, 2019 bought the largest pool of assets – mortgage loans of Delta Bank (both based in Kyiv) with the balance-sheet value of over UAH 1.3 billion for UAH 44.14 million, according to information posted on the ProZorro.Sales platform.
Director of the department of consolidated sales of assets at the Deposit Guarantee Fund Taras Yeleiko said on his Facebook page that with a starting price of the lot of UAH 48.4 million, bids initially fell to UAH 33.8 million, but later during the competition between bidders increased to UAH 44 million.
According to him, the pool consisted of 60% of assets located in Kyiv region, 40% of the assets located in Central and Western Ukraine.
Five companies submitted bids for this pool.
“The increase in the number of bidders and their willingness to increase the price offer indicates a revival of the market interest in such assets,” Yeleiko said.
According to him, companies with foreign capital also participated in the auction.
