A few years ago, when it was much cheaper to lend money, it was the banks that bullied consumers. Today you have to “chase” a bank to get a mortgage quote. In times of near-zero interest rates, this also happens. It happened to Altroconsumo’s “secret agents” who contacted 35 branches of various banks in Rome, Milan and Naples to carry out an investigation published on the organization’s website and magazine.
Before being able to physically enter the branch, in fact, the fake couple with a total income of 3000 euros per month had several appointments scheduled on the phone or online canceled, even more than once and had to wait a long time before being finally received. . There are those who appeal to too many requests from customers, so enticed by the rates at an all-time low. It is impossible to establish whether this is always true, but there is certainly that in 2020 (Crif data) the demand for mortgages grew by 2.8%. And this despite the pandemic, which has slowed down the real estate market, visits and practices. Pandemic aside, this consumer-friendly situation will also remain for 2021, although the first signs suggest that the fixed rate is heading towards slow growth and that within a few months the variable could return to being the most convenient, albeit – by definition – the most volatile.
The problem is that, even once they entered the branch, the couple (who asked for a mortgage of 180,000 euros for a first home with a fixed rate) felt that they were given rather imaginative, though not always surprising, answers. An example? The bad habit of attaching a policy to a mortgage is hard to die: three out of ten banks have offered a life and three others a home policy. It also happens with loans and the Antitrust has already imposed sanctions. Often these policies are passed as necessary to obtain the mortgage and, in the case of life insurance, we are talking about significant figures: 16,500 euros on average, that is 9% of the capital of a 180,000 euro mortgage. For seven out of ten banks it is perfectly normal to ask that the customer also open a checking account. Yet the law, Altroconsumo recalls, is clear, and considers incorrect “the commercial practice of a bank, credit institution or financial intermediary which, for the purpose of stipulating a loan agreement, obliges the customer to sign a insurance policy issued by the same bank (…) or upon opening a current account at the same bank “.
This does not mean that an institution cannot ask to open a life insurance policy to cover the credit. But if he does, he has to “block” the mortgage offer for 10 days, so that the customer can look for cheaper alternatives on the market. Not only that, the law requires the bank to submit to the customer two quotes from insurance companies with which it has no agreements. But all this, explains Altroconsumo, “has mostly remained on paper”. Also for this reason the organization sent the results of the investigation to the Bank of Italy, Antitrust and Ivass (the authority of the insurance sector). To complete the picture, four branches (all in Milan) refused to make any offers to the couple without first having the income and housing documents in hand, not necessary for this operation. Two others made the offer, but without leaving anything written.
The investigation then moved online where transparency in policy matters is greater but the barriers to entry are, if possible, even higher. Only 9 out of 15 sites allow the online quote – which in addition to being more convenient, in the middle of the pandemic would make customers and employees feel more relaxed – without referring it to an in-person meeting and only two (Banca Sella and Ing) allow you to formalize the request for mortgage via the web, with digital signature, taking full advantage of the possibilities of the Internet. In reality, they would not be the only ones to do so, but three banks grant this “luxury” only to those who are already account holders, thus violating the regulations.
As for the combined insurance policies, that life appears only in two estimates out of fifteen but, Altroconsumo specifies, “it is clearly indicated as optional and also explained”. The one relating to the house – sold by the bank – is instead always included in the estimate, “so it suggests that it is mandatory”, with some exceptions: Unicredit and Banca Sella explain that it can also be purchased elsewhere. While in the estimates of Deutsche Bank, Ing, Iwbank and Webank it is free.
.