Mortgage lending runs out of steam towards yearend

Mortgage loan sales slowed down in autumn despite the easing signs issued by several banks that came up with promotional offers.
The total amount of mortgage loans in October climbed by almost 23m euros, double the September level, but also by three to four times below the growth pace registered during the summer months, NBR data show. In late October, banks held mortgage loans worth 28.1m RON (6.59bn euros) in their portfolio.
Bankers say they still have clients for loans, but most of them do not ask for new loans, but want to refinance their old debts, which does not reflect in the total volume given that the money stays in the system and is just moving from one bank to another.
Many banks started aggressively promoting refinancing loans by interest and fee cuts after Ordinance 50 came into effect. Moreover, many banks eliminated the credit file analysis fee for refinancing loans.
The slower increase in the amount of mortgage loans is exclusively accounted for by the smaller number of released loans, considering repayments are almost non-existent.