Ghetea: Banks have no interest in foreclosing mortgages

Financial institutions prefer to allow debtors to restructure and reschedule loans rather than foreclose mortgages, because they would end up losing, on the one hand, and would be forced to continue "hunting" debtors, on the other hand, the President of CEC Bank and of the Romanian Banking Association (ARB), Radu Ghetea, told Business Standard.

This statement comes amid information that the number of debtors subject to debt enforcement increased significantly. "I do not believe that banks, at present, wish to foreclose collaterals. Let us say I have a collateral of 100 - the value of the mortgage -, for a value of 80 - the loan. If I consider the fact that the mortgage dropped to about 60 now, the only thing I can do, as a bank, is not being able to fully recover the loan and to have to continue following the client. I will grow old stopping his or her salaries, and the client will be like a rabbit or a flea, jumping from one job to another," Ghetea said.

According to the banker, lenders will try to provide their clients a way to help them pay their installments, at least as long as the mortgaged goods cannot be sold at a price high enough to cover the debt. The total balance of arrears of retail loans amounted to some €1.5 billion at the end of the first six months of 2009.

Ghetea added that Romanians have already begun spending their savings, as their financial situation is rather difficult. "On the whole, all these people who lost their jobs, families that are going through harder times financially, began consuming their reserves," Ghetea said, adding that an increase in deposits is out of the question.

The balance of deposits amounted to €37.6 billion after the first six months of 2009, compared to €39 bln year-on-year. Speaking of the local economy, Ghetea said that it will stop declining slightly grow in the final quarter of the year.

standard.money.ro