Caixa says it does not plan to increase the interest rate on its own house any further

The president of Caixa, Pedro Guimarães, said on Tuesday (30) that the bank does not intend to increase interest rates on mortgage loans in the coming months, even if the Selic rate continues on an upward trajectory.

At an event held by the Cbic (Brazilian Chamber of Construction Industry), in Brasília, Guimarães stated that Caixa is based on the medium-term interest rate, for 8 to 10 years, to determine the interest on real estate financing. He claims that this rate should not go up any further, as it has already absorbed the future highs of the Selic, currently at 7.75%.

“The market has already priced in a need to raise interest rates in the short term, so we don’t expect any further increases, and from now on inflation starts to drop,” he said.

Caixa increased last week the rate of housing finance, which rose from 7.25% per year, in the modality plus TR, to 8% to 8.99% per year, according to the relationship with the bank. “We had to make a small adjustment, we couldn’t charge for the same thing, but the impact was relatively small, because we made a smaller margin for Caixa,” he said.

According to him, the bank chose to reduce its margin to gain in maintaining the customer’s relationship with the institution and to avoid spending on the process of repossessing properties from defaulters. “We don’t see a need for increases greater than those that have already happened.”

The president of Caixa also stated that the bank will set a record for credit offered for housing in 2021, and that he expects to grow this amount by 10% next year.

In October, Guimarães told sheet which estimated to have by the end of this year BRL 58 billion in contracts financed by the FGTS, through the Casa Verde Amarela program, and BRL 80 billion by the SBPE (Brazilian Savings and Loan System), with funds from savings.