Government will announce a new housing policy with change in savings, says minister

The Minister of Cities, Jader Filho, announced on Tuesday, 7, that the federal government will launch next Friday, 10, a new housing policy aimed at increasing credit to the middle class. The main measure provides for the redefinition of the destination of compulsory deposits of savings, releasing part of the resources currently retained by the Central Bank to finance housing.

The launch event will be held in São Paulo and will be attended by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Today, the Central Bank requires banks to maintain 20% of savings deposits collected as compulsory, which restricts available credit volume.

The proposal discussed by the government is to reduce this percentage and direct 80% of the amount released exclusively to the Housing Financial System (SFH). The remaining 20% ​​would be applied to the Real Estate Financial System (SFI).

According to Jader Filho, the measure seeks to reverse the retraction in real estate credit, aggravated by the departure of funds from savings and high interest rates.

“Today, middle class families find interest between 19% and 22% per year, which makes financing virtually unfeasible,” said the minister, during a public hearing in the Senate.

The minister stated that the issue has been treated since the end of 2023, in dialogue with the Central Bank, in view of the concern with the scarcity of resources for the sector. “If we do not change this logic, part of the population will be deprived of the possibility of buying their home. Savings have always been the main housing financing instrument of the country, and we need to restore this role,” he said.

The government estimates that the new policy can expand up to R $ 150 billion the housing credit by 2026, encouraging construction and job creation.

Jader stressed that without this recomposition, the country may face retraction in the sector and negative impact on GDP.