Slovak banks gave out 2.2 billion crowns ($44 million) in mortgage loans in the first half of this year, after a total of 1.4 billion for all 2000. However, fears remain that the loans will be hurt by the government's plans to lower mortgage subsidies from 5% to 4.5% next year.
Many Slovak banks have said that they see a potential boom in mortgage lending, and in the first half of this year, rates offered by some of the largest banks, including Všeobecná úverová banka (VÚB) have steadily fallen.
