OREANDA-NEWS. Mortgage loans to individuals make 57% of Ukrsotsbank total loan portfolio. According to mortgage loans department deputy chief, Vladyslav Korolev, mortgage loans granted to individuals make about 70% of Ukrsotsbank total loan portfolio for individuals, reported the press-centre of Ukrsotsbank.

USB mortgage portfolio of individuals grows quite rapidly, only for seven months of this year it grew by more than one and a half times (+62%). Speaking on the growth dynamics of the portfolio in 2006 and 2007, it grew by 3,4 times. In July 2007, the Bank granted 525 loans for the purchase of real estate in the secondary market, 168 - in the primary market. To compare: the number of similar transactions in July 2006 made 392 in the secondary market, and 117 - in the primary.

Vladyslav Korolev: “In 2007 we observe the tendency of rapid growth of individuals` revenues rate with respect to the real estate prices growth. It should also be noted that mortgage loans in GDP structure of Ukraine make less than 6%, so at this moment all mortgage products are not yet widespread and available only to clients with revenues higher than average.

Ukrsotsbank mortgage portfolio is sufficiently diversified on a regional basis and only 30% of it are being formed by means of loans granted for the purchase (or with mortgage creation) real estate in Kyiv. We have a quite reliable system for credit risks evaluation and at large, the risk of a problem mortgages significant increase is low.

Considering the possible decrease of the real estate price, first of all it is needed to separate the real estate primary and secondary market. In our view, significant, at 20-40%, reduce of the real estate price is not realistic and could happen only in the case of a serious economic crisis. At the moment we observe not only a stable economic growth, but also a significant improvement in the real estate market, the number of transactions increases. Ukrsotsbank didn’t impose any tough measures in providing mortgage loans”.

As of September 1, 2007 Ukrsotsbank mortgage loan portfolio amounted to UAH 11,7 billion.