“The macroprudential recommendation is to be taken very seriously, very seriously,” said Centeno at the press conference to present the Financial Stability Report, at the headquarters of Banco de Portugal (BdP), in Lisbon.
According to the former PS Finance Minister (Government of António Costa), the work done to make the banking system more solid was “very difficult” and “once this position has been achieved it is not prudent to call it into question”. Furthermore, he stated, excessive debt was at the origin of the financial crisis and therefore “must be taken care of”.
Regarding the exemption from IMT (Municipal Tax on Onerous Property Transfers) on the purchase of their first home by young people, Centeno said that this measure “has a much lower systemic impact” than the public guarantee measure as “there is no increase in family debt”.
The Government announced a public guarantee to facilitate the purchase of a home by young people (up to 35 years old) using housing credit, with this guarantee being up to 15% of the purchase value of the properties. The State acts as a guarantor, so if the person defaults on the loan, the State takes over.
The Minister of the Presidency, Leitão Amaro, explained this Monday that “the guarantee exists until the young person pays the first 15% [of the loan] to the bank”, specifying that when this 15% is paid “the State leaves the equation”.