URSA Bank’s customers located in Ural and Siberian Federal Districts can now use the advantage of the bank’s new mortgage offer: they can now use the so-called maternity capital (the sum of money a family upon having their second and consecutive child or children) to pay off their mortgages. This June, they have started using the money transferred by the Retirement Fund’s local divisions to pay off mortgages early, the bank’s press officer reports.

‘Our customers can choose the option that suits them best: they can either use the sum to pay off a portion of their debt in one installment or have a certain sum taken out of their account every month. In the latter case, the money is transferred to the bank automatically, so the customer doesn’t have to worry about the monthly payments for a while,’ the press officer explains.

‘At the time of a crisis, our customers greatly appreciate the chance to use the maternity capital to pay off their mortgage loans. URSA Bank is fully prepared technology wise to handle such transactions. Our borrowers have been offered every chance to minimize their liabilities,’ says URSA Bank CEO Dmitriy Akimkin.

This option was made available on January 1, 2009 when the Federal Bill 256 stated that families with mortgage agreements signed before December 31, 2010 had a chance to use their maternity capital to pay off the loan or the interest. This option is provided for all families regardless of when the parents had or adopted their second, third, or consecutive child or children. The maternity capital is increased annually proportionally to the inflation rate, so the sum amounted to 299,731 RUR on January 1, 2009.