Lending drops in Spain
Data out from the Spanish Statistical office yesterday showed yet another decrease in lending in Spainboth in terms of average loan size, capital lent and number of new mortgage constituted.
The level of Spanish mortgages for residential dwellings completed in February 2013 fell by 4.9% in comparison to January 2013 and capital lent fell by 4.2%.
2013 Spanish mortgages behind 2012 levels
The level of Spanish mortgages completed in Feb 2013 in comparison to level of loans completed in Feb 2012 dropped by 7.5% and the level of capital lent dropped by 9.2%.
The level of Spanish mortgages completed in the first two months of 2013 in comparison to the first two months of 2012 dropped by 10.1% and the level of capital lent dropped by 12.8%.
Average loan sizes increased slightly from January 2013 to Feb 2013 but continues to show lower loan sizes than 12 months ago. This is a reflection of a continuing drop in prices.
The total number of mortgages completed for dwellings stood at 24.197 in the month of February. This compares with a total of 26.189 existing loans cancelled within the month and shows yet another month of net outflows in terms of the Spanish Banks loan books.
59% of all lending within February was for dwellings with the rest of the capital lent being for land or commercial activity.
Interest rates in Spain
Average lending rates in February was 4.24% which was the same as January 2013 and shows a decrease from the last quarter of 2012. This decrease is mainly due to a lowering of the Euribor rate rather than a reduction in bank margins. 92.35% of all loans granted were on a variable rate with only 7.7% granted on a fixed rate. Euribor was the most widely used index.
Andalucía remained the region with the highest number of mortgages completed and Canaries for yet another month showed one of the highest positive annual increases both for the year and on a year on year basis.