When before parliamentary elections in 2023, interest on mortgages started to rise, Robert Ficothen still an opposition politician, scared people with talk of a ticking time bomb that people would not be able to handle.
The then Minister of Finance of the caretaker government, Michal Horvát, the Národná banka Slovenska and the Slovak Banking Association tamed his statements, saying that clients would not lose a roof over their heads.
After the elections, Fico and his government launched the so-called subsidization of mortgages, i.e. help with repayment of higher installments. In the end, the state paid them back to people for less than two years.
Last year, the government decided to do away with the contribution and left it up to the banks themselves. A few months of ignorance followed. In the end, most of the banks decided to continue the assistance, which should start from May.
Banks continue to help
Financial Compass analyst Ján Šrank says that he does not perceive the subsidization of mortgage loans as the right step from the very beginning.
“I don’t remember a situation when the government forced lenders to repay loans to borrowers,” he adds.
Despite this, several financial houses have decided to participate in mortgage repayment assistance. Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka and VÚB banka have already confirmed their interest. They were joined by ČSOB, mBank and UniCredit Bank.
The opposite decision was made by 365.bank, which was bought some time ago by the parent company ČSOB. He is currently still acting independently.
“We have made the decision not to participate in the support scheme for the provision of the mortgage assistance allowance. We are a supporter of an individual approach and solutions for clients based on their real needs, which we will continue to do,” bank spokeswoman Jana Považanová told SME.
According to Považanova, clients who received help with mortgage repayments from the state until the end of 2025 have the opportunity to contact the 365th bank and it will “look for an individual solution” for them.
What are the conditions for receiving the contribution?
Borrowers who want to apply for help must meet several conditions. The first is that they started repaying the housing loan before January 2024.
