Slovak Banks to Fund Government Mortgage Relief Program Starting in May

Slovakia's largest banks have agreed to voluntarily fund a mortgage payment assistance program starting in May, taking over from government financing. The program will provide subsidies to help borrowers with increased mortgage payments, targeting people with incomes up to 1.6 times the average wage in 2024 who took out loans before this year. The mortgage relief initiative was a central campaign promise of the current government led by Robert Fico's Smer-SD party, which returned to power following elections in October 2023. The arrangement represents a compromise between the government and the banking sector, with banks now shouldering the financial burden of the relief program for the remainder of this government's term.