Increased pressure from angry citizens and the news of more and more people driven to suicide after being evicted from their homes have inspired 180-degree flip in discussions about a new Spanish mortgage bill.
The Peoples? Party was initially opposed to discussing a legal change to collateralized loan policies that many citizens wanted, but yesterday the party reversed its position. It is not advisable to change laws while under pressure, and experts from the financial sector warn against applying a new collateralized loan law retroactively because of the effects this would have on bank balance sheets and the credibility of the financial system. Still, we need to figure out how to ease the financial burden of familes who have few resources or protection. Many of them have suddenly found themselves homeless because of layoffs resulting from widespread financial crisis that has been patched up by drawing on taxpayer money.
The banks should help find a solution to the problem, becuase they are the main culprits, as the two leading political parties reach an agreement on new limited collateralized loans. In fact, the current mortgage law recognizes collateralized loans if loan parties agreed on such a structure at signing. This kind of agreement is not the norm and diverges from the general rule that people who take out loans are subject to losing all present and future assets if they are unable to make payments. The new collateralized loan laws should be limited to at-risk groups, and legislators should focus on ensuring that loan requirements (who, what kind of home, what earning level, etc.) are fair for those who are in danger of losing their home and living, literally, in the street.
