Centeno said there were 450,000 more people employed than in January 2019 and the average salary had increased by more than 200 euros to 1,319 euros ($1,444) per month. The share of bad loans in Portuguese banks' loan portfolios fell to an all-time low of 3% in December, the central bank said on Thursday. The ECB last raised its refinancing rate by 50 basis points to 3.50% three weeks ago. ($1 = 0.9136 euros) (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves Editing by Mark Potter)
Messaging: sergio.goncalves.reuters.com@reuters.net)) By Sergio Goncalves
LISBON, April 4 (Reuters) - The risk of default on
mortgages in Portugal is low despite the steep rise in interest
rates by the European Central Bank (ECB) because there are so
many people in work, ECB Governing Council member Mario Centeno
said on Wednesday.
In Portugal, around 90% of the stock of 1.4 million
mortgages has variable rates indexed to three-month, six-month
and 12-month Euribor rates.
Centeno, who is governor of the Bank of Portugal, said that,
contrary to what happened in the sovereign debt crisis that led
to the country's international bailout in 2011, "this time the
Portuguese economy was prepared to face a crisis like this".
"The risk of default (on mortgages) is low because Portugal
has never in its history had so many people working and the
country in the past has had higher interest rates, higher
mortgage payments and more indebted families than it currently
has," he told a parliamentary committee.
Portugal's monthly unemployment rate fell to 6.8% in
February from a revised reading of 7.0% in January.
Centeno said that in 2022, 190,000 new jobs were created
with total employment reaching a record high of around 3.98
million, while wages per worker increased by 7.6%, which
compared with annual inflation of 7.8%.
"Despite inflation, there was only a marginal drop of 0.2%
in the real wage per worker and the real disposable income of
Portuguese families did not fall due to the government's support
measures," he said.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.