BCR: zero down payment for mortgage credits

BCR (the largest bank in the system) will reduce the down payment for real estate funding to 0% starting next week, therefore taking the final steps towards relaxing the lending policy for individuals. “In the coming days, BCR will start to grant mortgage credits with a zero down payment. Depending on their risk profile, the clients will be able to take out credits with a down payment ranging from 0% to 25%, Dorin Cojocaru, executive manager of the retail credits division of the BCR, said yesterday. The main requirement for a client to be able to access real estate financing is not to have any overdue payments on previous loans. The financial situation of the family will also play an important role when granting a loan. The BCR secured the approval of the NBR (National Bank of Romania) to establish its own lending norms for individuals in June, but postponed the reduction in the down payment for real estate financing out of caution, waiting for home and land prices to stabilise. Cojocaru did not provide any further details on the lending conditions, which will be released by the bank at a later date. So far, 13 banks have secured the NBR’s approval to use their own lending norms for individual clients. Although several banks reduced the level of down payments on real estate credits as early as this summer, this facility was used more as a “marketing vector”, given that access requirements for such financing are restrictive, and clients usually incur higher costs, which are proportionate to the risks undertaken by the bank.