Global Courant
SUBSCRIBERS EXCLUSIVE
The initiative obtained the half sanction in Deputies and now it must be dealt with by the Senate.
With the approval of the project promoted by the ruling party in the Chamber of Deputies, the “Protection Regime for UVA and UVI Mortgage Loan Debtors” had half a sanction on Wednesday and will be passed to the Senate.
Among its main points, the rule states that the fee to be paid must not exceed 30% of the debtors’ income and creates a trust fund.
The initiative establishes that the fee to be paid may not exceed 30% of the income accredited by the debtors and that, in credits already granted, the computation of 30% will be retroactive to January 1, 2023.
The proposal seeks to offer a coverage system to mortgage debtors by implementing the calculation of balances owed with adjustment by means of an index updateable by Ripte (salaries) instead of setting them based on inflation.
In the months that the Ripte is above the CPI (the consumer price index), they will always pay the lowest index.
In addition, those debtors who are affected by the Income Tax may deduct up to three minimum wages annually.
They will also be able to sell their property and existing credit.
Eviction trials, releases, embargoes or any type of preventive or precautionary measures in process on those homes acquired through this type of credit are suspended for one year.
The initiative provides for the creation of a Mortgage Compensation and Promotion Trust Fund (FFCPH), from the banking system. In the event that the debtor loses his job, this fund will work as a kind of guarantee that will pay up to three installments.
The banks have already established a position and issued a statement in which they warned that it affects legal certainty, implies the breaking of contracts and retroactively taxes the operation. This was warned by the entities ABA (Argentine Banks Association) and Adeba (Argentine Banks Association) in relation to the effects of the measure.
What did the deputies say?
The initiative was approved with 134 votes in favor, 40 against and 18 abstentions.
During the debate, Julio Cobos (UCR) pointed out that “the problem was caused by the State itself with inflation that exceeded purchasing power.” “The one who complied was the user. The one who did not comply was the State,” highlighted the legislator when exposing at the venue.
Meanwhile, Martín Tetaz (UCR Evolución) pointed out that in Argentina “mortgage credit does not exist, it is a fantasy” and explained that “the main reason is economic instability and fundamentally inflation.”
“The UVA is a very good mechanism to allow the existence of long-term credit in a context of inflation,” said the economist, who warned that if the UVA mechanism is broken it will “condition the future of millions of Argentine families, who they have the only tool to access housing, which is a mortgage loan”.
José Luis Espert, meanwhile, pointed out that only 0.7 percent of the credit in Argentina was granted under the UVA modality. He explained that 1,400 people reported some irregularity or delay in payments as of March 2023. “We are talking about a bill from the National Congress for nothing itself,” concluded the economist to question the project.
For his part, Juan Manuel López, from the Civic Coalition, pointed to Sergio Massa and stressed that since he took office as Economy Minister, “inflation has been higher than the previous month” at the time he took over the Palacio de Tax authorities.
NO
