Czech mortgage banks expect another record year

   By ČTK / Published 12 October 2007

   

   

   Prague, Oct 11 (CTK) - Czech mortgage banks told CTK in a poll today they expected 2007 to
   become another record year.

   Pavel Kuehn, deputy director for mortgage banking at high-street bank Ceska sporitelna, said
   the market should grow by up to 45 percent this year.

   Jan Kloucek, Hypotecni banka manager for housing and loans, said the growth could reach up to
   50 percent.

   Experts said the increase was due to a planned growth in VAT on construction work as of
   January 2008 and an expected moderate growth in lending rates.

   Besides, living standard in the Czech Republic is growing and people born during the baby boom
   of the 1970s are buying new homes now.

   Next year should bring a retreat, experts said.

   "Considering the slightly growing interest rates and a high comparative base, we expect the
   pace of the growth in the volume of new mortgage loans to slow down to 10 percent in 2008,"
   said Hypotecni banka chief executive Jan Sadil.

   In full-year 2006, Czech banks granted mortgage loans worth over Kc100 billion, a growth of 40
   percent year-on-year.

   New mortgage loans in January-September 2007:

   Bank                   Volume in Kc Yr/yr change in No. of loans Yr/yr change in number of     
                          billions     volume in pct                loans in pct                  
   Ceska sporitelna       33.4         35 %            19,500       20 %                          
   Hypotecni banka, CSOB, 31           55 %            18,363       29 %                          
   Citibank                                                                                       
   Raiffeisenbank         13.6         103 %           8,443        64 %                          
   GE Money Bank          6.7          84 %            4,178        70 %                          

   Source: banks