This measure, effective as of July 20, 2024, seeks to reactivate the economy and facilitate access to housing for thousands of families, including Colombians abroad.
In recent days, Bancolombia announced that it will reduce E.A. by 10%. the rates at which it has been granting its financing for housing credit and housing leasing in projects financed by the banking entity. This change will be effective from July 20, 2024. They will also have a drop of 11% E.A. new housing loans in projects not financed by the bank, loans for the acquisition and remodeling of used housing, construction of individual housing and purchase of a housing portfolio.
For the president of Bancolombia, Juan Carlos Mora, reactivating the country’s economy by enabling access to housing for thousands of families is a priority for this second half of 2024: “We trust in the power to reactivate the economy with the help of a key sector as a real estate agent and builder. We have proposed that housing be a possibility for everyone and, in that sense, we continue to make efforts to adjust our rates, managing to directly impact 21,000 families in their dream of owning their own home by providing disbursements of up to $2.6 billion at the end of the year, we reconfirm our commitment to Colombia.”
This rate reduction, which has not been seen for 20 years, will also benefit Colombians abroad who live in one of the 20 countries where Bancolombia has a presence, such as the United States, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and Australia, among others. .
This decision has placed Bancolombia between two and three percentage points below the lowest rates in the market, making it the entity with the lowest interest rate in this credit segment. According to the most recent figures from the Superfinanciera, only the National Savings Fund comes close to this rate, with 10.7% E.A. for VIS housing acquisition.
Among the entities that offer the lowest rates for the purchase of a VIS home are Confiar and Banco Davivienda (12.42% E.A.), La Hipotecaria (12.9% E.A.) and Banco de Bogotá (12.92% E.A.). For the acquisition of non-VIS housing, the lowest rates are offered by the National Savings Fund (12.46% E.A.) and AV Villas (13.34% E.A.).
Behavior of mortgage loans
In recent months, the increase in interest rates has affected the possibility of accessing mortgage loans. However, the recent rate reduction by Bancolombia could be the beginning of a new competition between financial entities to obtain new clients, as more banks join this trend.
This change occurs in a context where the mortgage loan portfolio has shown slight improvements. According to the latest report from the financial system in April, the housing portfolio grew 1.7% in real terms compared to the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive month of positive growth after 11 months of declines.
The Superfinanciera points out that this behavior is aligned with the correction of inflation, with an annual nominal growth of 9% in this type of credit. In April, disbursements reached $1.5 trillion, driven primarily by the Non-VIS segment, with the VIS portfolio growing 16.9% annually in real terms and the Non-VIS portfolio decreasing 4.7%.
In conclusion, Bancolombia’s initiative represents an opportunity and a light of hope so that Colombians, even those who live abroad, can access their own home.
Taken from larepublica.com
