BuySellBA
Administrator
Two banks have paused their mortgage credit lines - La Nacion Propiedades
Source:
Dos bancos pusieron en pausa sus líneas de crédito hipotecario
La medida llega en un mercado con tasas al alza, scoring más duro y un dólar que en el inicio de la semana estuvo cerca de tocar el techo de la banda
www.lanacion.com.ar
September 08, 2025
The measure comes in a market with rising rates, tougher scoring and a dollar that at the beginning of the week was close to touching the ceiling of the band.
By Candela Contreras
Uncertainty: Two banks paused their mortgage credit lines. Shutterstock
The news that is worrying the real estate market comes from two sources: two banks have paused their lending lines in recent days.
Banco Ciudad has its lines suspended, and Banco del Chubut had them suspended for more than 10 days.
Both entities were contacted by LA NACION and confirmed that this is a product review , but the situation of each, according to the sources consulted, would be different.
For one thing, Banco Ciudad stated that "the applications already submitted will continue to be processed, but new ones will not be accepted until the lines are reactivated" and assured that they will disburse 600 loans already requested in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Banco del Chubut, in an initial inquiry by LA NACION , confirmed the pause and later reported that the paused line had been reactivated . However, it is not yet listed as active on the provincial bank's website.
"The bank continues to offer mortgage loans and is not considering suspending or pausing them," said Paulino Caballero, president of the Chubut-based bank.
The measure raises alarm in an already tense situation : mortgage rates have risen in recent months , several banks have tightened credit conditions, and the dollar has risen by nearly $200 in 50 days.
In this context, specialists warn that the temporary suspension of credit lines by public or regional entities is a warning sign , and is primarily due to the financial system's lack of long-term liquidity and the sector's ability to sustain mortgages for terms of up to 20 or 30 years.
What they offered before the break
The preconditions showed a competitive offer that is now on hold:- Banco Ciudad: General interest rate of 9.9% and 4.5% for prime areas in the City of Buenos Aires; financing up to $350 million . To date, the bank has already granted 2,800 mortgage loans for more than $252 billion .
- Banco del Chubut: 6% interest rates for first-time homes and 8.5% interest rates for second homes; loans up to $230 million .
The fact that banks are pausing conditions is another warning sign of what is happening in the mortgage market. Shutterstock
Why entities freeze lines
Market sources and analysts agree that the decision responds to a long-term funding problem : banks need stable, long-term resources to finance mortgages. In the absence of developed markets to securitize these portfolios—that is, to sell the risk to investors—banks are left with the alternative of raising rates to discourage demand or, when pressure is greatest, curbing supply and delaying processing. This liquidity tension drives movements like the ones we are currently witnessing.Furthermore, the recent rise of the dollar and a pre-election period increase uncertainty.
The tightening is not uniform; some banks have raised rates significantly: Banco Macro already has an APR close to 15% for its mortgage lines; Banco Galicia raised it to 11.5% ; but many banks already have rates close to or higher than 10%. These increases cause the rate to rise and leave many people unable to access them.
But the latest news that further complicated the situation was that Banco Nación increased requirements that have nothing to do with interest rates, but rather raised its customer scores . This means that a near-perfect credit profile is now required to qualify for a loan.
In the real estate sector, they say that many ongoing transactions were interrupted because banks changed the rules mid-game : "Suddenly, they tell you they've raised the scoring or some other requirement, and you're out," said one broker .
What will happen in the market
Mortgage loans currently account for nearly 20% of purchase and sale transactions, so: "The granting of mortgage loans will slow down significantly, and that will have a multiplier effect on other transactions due to the same market chain effect ," said Fabián Achával of the eponymous real estate agency, adding that they must wait for this turbulence to calm down, "even though everything will depend on what happens with the elections."Along the same lines, Federico González Rouco, an economist at the consulting firm Empiria, acknowledged that "the outlook for the coming scenario is different with or without credit. The market was structured to have financing, so if there's no credit, it will have to restructure itself again or wait for everything to rearrange itself next year and mortgage financing to return."
Thus, the banks' decision to review and pause their mortgage lines is, more than a product adjustment, a snapshot of the system's current problem : without long-term funding or secondary markets, and with a volatile political and economic context, offering 20- or 30-year mortgages becomes risky. For buyers, it means an increasingly difficult dream to achieve; for real estate agencies, it means a portion of demand that will be on hold.
www.buysellba.com
