Too strict guidelines in terms of financing, too high construction costs and therefore very difficult conditions for realizing your dream home – these conditions not only hurt potential buyers of apartments and houses, but also banks and construction companies. But one bank in Upper Austria almost looks like a “Gaul village”: Hypo OÖ.
“Home financing is going well,” says Klaus Kumpfmüller, CEO of Hypo Oberösterreich. Although the situation is anything but simple, the bank, which operates from Linz, has registered only a small percentage drop in new customers so far this year, the bank manager emphasizes. How is that possible while almost all banks were busy with new home loans? This is mainly due to Hypo OÖ’s customer structure.
High earners have it easier
Many doctors and freelancers are customers of the bank managed by Kumpfmüller. These “big earners” can also meet strict funding guidelines much more easily than others. “But we have also invested a lot in the consulting skills of our employees, we are really top here – that’s why many new customers come to us,” emphasizes Kumpfmüller.
Up to 300 borrowers are currently in arrears
Hypo OÖ currently has approximately 50,000 current home loans for private individuals. Of these, between 250 and 300 are in arrears with one or more installments. “We don’t see that increasing massively,” said the manager. He is critical of the regulation introduced by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets in the summer of 2022 (see fact box) on lending: “It is counterproductive and should be scrapped and withdrawn without replacement.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
