CNB rates go higher, banks go low on mortgages

by   CIJ iDesk I
2018-07-18   07:12
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The Czech National Bank is doing what it can to slow the pace of mortgage loans to consumers, including raising interest rates, but some banks have actually made them cheaper. The idea is to tempt home buyers to take the plunge before new, stricter rules come into effect in October. Among the banks to have made mortgages cheaper are Česká spořitelna and Equa bank. Česká spořitelna's spokesman Filip Hrubý told the daily Novinky that the bank expected demand to increase in the run-up to the stricter rules governing how much banks can loan their clients. "That's why we decided to react to this demand and offer temporarily reduced interest rates for certain mortgages." Equa bank claims the central bank's new rules had no effect on its strategy.