Changes in Housing Mortgage Loans

At the beginning of the year, and to encourage responsible credit, changes in the law were made to reinforce the information given to customers to allow them to be more conscious in their decision-making process. In summary, some of the changes are as follows:

Independent remuneration of the credit concession:

The salary policy for employees of credit institutions cannot depend on loan applications or approvals. This prevents them from pushing customers to apply for credit to meet sales targets.

More informed credit granting:

Employees of credit institutions are required to have adequate knowledge of the product they are recommending. The new law protects the duty of care to the consumer to assess whether the product is appropriate to the client’s financial situation.

Deadline for consumer reflection:

The new legislation ensures that the institution is bound to the proposal for 30 days so that the client can compare and evaluate other proposals. In addition, the submission of the proposal ensures a minimum period of 7 days of deliberation for the client before the acceptance of the credit agreement. The same applies to the guarantor, reinforcing, this way, the guarantor’s protection and information as well.

These are just a few of the changes in the law that already affect the housing loans and which Casas do Barlavento see as very positive. This law encourages the provision of better service to clients and promotes good credit practices.