According to the central bank’s latest figures on loans and bank deposits, the banks provided home loans worth €790 million, less than the figure of €810 million in August - a month in which they had already retreated on month - but more than the €739 million granted in September 2017.
Since the beginning of the year the banks have lent €7.293 billion in new housing loans compared with €5.951 billion granted last year between January and September.
For new residential loans, the average interest rate remained at 1.36 percent, while for consumer credit and loans for other purposes, the average interest rates were respectively 7.19 percent and 3.84 percent (7.04 percent and 4.07 percent in August).
In July, the new rules of the Bank of Portugal came into force, creating restrictions on granting new home and consumer loans, stating, for example, that households can only spend half of their income on bank loans.
Although not mandatory, banks that fail to comply must explain to the supervisor why they have not done so.