"My Home, My Life" program will have smaller developments, says Caixa representative.
The program will focus on the lowest income bracket, and projects must be located in urban areas with access to public services.
Fiesp Agency - Housing was one of the topics discussed on Wednesday morning (April 26th) during the plenary meeting of the Construction and Mining Industry Department (Deconcic) of Fiesp. To talk about the Minha Casa Minha Vida Program, the department's head, Newton Cavalieri, invited the executive director of Housing at Caixa Econômica Federal, Rodrigo Wermelinger.
“Housing financing is in Caixa's DNA, which accounts for 65% of the country's mortgage lending. It's something perennial within the bank and transcends governments,” said the director. Regarding the Minha Casa Minha Vida program, which is almost entirely (99,9%) executed by the federal bank, the FGTS resources applied in 2021 totaled R$ 57,8 billion, reaching R$ 70,2 billion the following year, benefiting more than 1,5 million people.
One of the measures to stimulate the program is the increase in subsidies for families with incomes up to R$ 4.400, with the realignment of income brackets, and the alteration of the classification of families, so that they can obtain lower interest rates and up to 35 years of repayment term.
According to Wermelinger, the adjustments are necessary to accommodate the increased costs in the construction sector, and one of the objectives of the measures is to primarily reach people with incomes of up to one and a half minimum wages. Band 1, for urban properties, covers gross family income up to R$ 2.640,00. From there, up to R$ 4.400,00, are the beneficiaries of Band 2. Band 3 includes people with incomes up to R$ 8.
In addition to focusing on lower income brackets, the Caixa executive also announced the creation of a guarantee fund that offers protection against credit risk and promotes access to informal income. "This measure will likely be implemented in the second half of the year, as will the FGTS Futuro program, which should use the deposits expected to enter the account to leverage financing capacity for loans, but this still depends on discussion within the board of trustees," he explained.
To serve people in the lowest income bracket, the program will seek smaller developments with better-located land (they need to be in areas adjacent to the existing urban fabric and with access to public services and facilities), and coordination with municipalities to avoid project discontinuation.
"Even though the limit for subsidizing properties has been set at R$ 170, contributions from public or private entities are permitted to make the projects viable," Wermelinger concluded.