Mortgage lender, Verida Credit estimates a 37.5% decline in average home loans size, down to 50,000 euros from 80,000 euros.
“For the time being, the average size of a loan is 80,000 euros, but we expect this value to fall in the coming period, down to 50,000 euros”, Carmen Retegan, chief executive officer of Verida Credit told Wall-Street.
The decrease is largely due to the impact of negative news over borrowers’ behavior. “Romanian market was invaded by contradictory and negative news, which caused confusion among consumers. Their behavior is characterized by a lack of confidence, even if multiple solutions and opportunities open up in the market for their financial projects”, said Retegan.
Many clients, she continued, are worried about losing their jobs, but there is a positive attitude in the market with respect to the assumed obligations at the beginning of the loan contract.
The company aims at granting loans worth 30 million euros by year-end, and delivering new products tailored to current poor market conditions, said the CEO of the lender.
“It would be a lie to say we have been immune to the crisis so far, but the company has managed to adapt its strategies to the new environment. Although the lending activity scaled back aggressively and than frozen for a period, in order to adjust to the new conditions and global macroeconomic structures, we used all this time to prepare new lending products due to be released in Romania soon”, said Carmen Retegan.
