SKB-Bank started offering mortgages to members of building societies who would like to have a dwelling built for them. There are several loan schemes available to customers, including the one without the obligatory collateral for the construction period.

‘We’ve got a lot of experience in terms of working with the local builders; all the details and technicalities have already been made clear, so, by launching this new offer, we are giving our building societies a chance to benefit from the federal mortgage program and are expanding our own market as well,’ SKB-Bank’s Mortgage Lending Director Anna Samuilova says.

‘SKB-Bank reduced the interest rates on its mortgages for apartments under construction in May 2007, so that they now come to only 15% to 16% a year; moreover, as soon as the apartment has been commissioned, the loan is classified as the usual mortgage, which means the interest rate drops even further to 11% to 14%,’ the bank’s press officer reports.