frequent questions
glossary
What is a basic bank account?
Access to the credit intermediary activity
List of authorised credit intermediaries
How to protect yourself from online fraud?
Know your rights when making payments in Europe.
Do you know what the gross domestic product is? What about inflation? (only in Portuguese)
Key tips to protect yourself when choosing online or mobile banking services.
Throughout the loan term, bank customers amortise the principal of the loan and pay interest on the amount owed.
As a rule, the instalments are paid monthly through the debit account on a date previously agreed with the bank. Any change in the date or account which the monthly instalment of the loan is paid through requires a mutual agreement between the customer and the bank.
Institutions may not charge fees associated with the processing of credit instalments or any other fee for the same purpose.
Bank customers may redeem savings plans, such as retirement or education savings plans, early to repay instalments of credit agreements secured by mortgages on their own permanent residence. Only the amounts paid into the savings plan at least five years prior can be redeemed early without any penalty or loss of tax benefits.
Customers amortise the loan in regular instalments of principal and interest and the capital repayment begins as soon as the first instalment.
Over time, the amortisation of capital will be progressively higher and the amortisation of interest correspondingly lower.
In exceptional situations, a grace period may be conceded, i.e. a period during which there is no repayment of principal, but only payment of interest (grace period).
The instalment during the grace period is therefore lower than the instalment payable after the grace period, following which the repayment constitutes instalments of principal and interest (standard repayment modality).
The longer the grace period, the shorter the period the customer has to repay the principal and thus, the greater the increase in the instalment in relation to the grace period.
In this modality, the total amount of interest payable is higher than in the standard repayment modality.
In exceptional situations, a capital deferral, i.e. postponing the repayment of part of the capital (for example 10%) to the end of the loan term, may be conceded.
Instalments are constant over the life of the agreement and lower than in the standard repayment modality.
However, all deferred capital is paid in one instalment when the last instalment is paid.
Payment before the date originally planned to redeem the loan (early repayment) may correspond to a part of the outstanding capital (partial repayment) or to the total outstanding capital (full repayment).
Bank customers may, at any time, repay part of the capital outstanding in the amount they deem fit.
They must do so on the date that coincides with the payment of the instalment and advise the credit institution, at least seven business days in advance, that they will be making this repayment.
Upon receipt of the repayment request, the institution must promptly inform the bank customer, on paper or other durable medium, of the impact of the repayment of the loan for the customer, describing the assumptions used.
The partial early repayment will result in a reduction in the amount of the monthly instalments, since the amount of the outstanding capital of the loan has been reduced.
Alternatively, bank customers may prefer the partial early repayment to be used to reduce the term of the loan, in which case they must ask the bank to change the repayment term. This request constitutes a renegotiation of the agreement. The renegotiation of the terms of the agreement is only possible with an agreement between the bank customer and the credit institution.
Bank customers can repay all of the principal of the outstanding loan before the term stipulated in the agreement.
For this, they must notify the credit institution at least 10 business days in advance.
Upon receipt of the repayment request, the institution shall promptly inform the bank customer, on paper or other durable medium, of the impact of the repayment of the loan for the customer, describing the assumptions used.
As a rule, full repayment occurs when the customer intends to transfer the loan to another credit institution.
In the event of full early repayment, the institution has 14 working days to issue and give the customer a statement proving the extinction of the debt (discharge statement). Any costs associated with the discharge statement may be charged only where consent to the cancellation of the registration of a mortgage is provided by electronic means or where the cancellation document of a mortgage registration is signed in the presence of the registrar’s office employee when such a request is made.
In early repayment of the loan, the amount of the fee payable by the customer cannot be more than:
In agreements with a variable interest rate: the equivalent of 0.5% of the capital that is repaid;
In agreements with a fixed interest rate: the equivalent of 2% of the capital that is repaid.
The repayment fees refer to the maximum that can be charged and therefore do not apply if a lower fee has been agreed or even exempted.
Bank customers are exempt from paying this fee if the reason for which they intend to anticipate the repayment is one of the following: death, unemployment or professional travel of one of the holders of the loan.
Until 31 December 2023, customers are exempt from this fee on variable rate loans for the purchase or construction of permanent residential property.
In addition to the early repayment fee, the credit institution may only demand the payment of expenses that have been paid to conservatories, notary offices and the tax administration on behalf of the customer.
The institution may not demand the return of amounts that it decided to bear on the customer’s behalf when the credit agreement was entered into.
In the case of total early repayment, the interest due up to the date of the early repayment is added to the amount of the early repayment fee, calculated on the basis of the principal outstanding after the last instalment due and paid.
The institution may not charge interest in relation to the future, in particular for the period from the repayment date to the date on which the next instalment would become due under the contractual terms.
To transfer a loan from institution A to institution B, customers will have to repay the loan in full.
Institution A may require the payment of:
Early repayment fee, which cannot exceed 0.5% of the capital that is repaid (in the case of variable interest agreements) or 2% of the capital that is repaid (in the case of fixed interest rate agreements). Until 31 December 2023, customers are exempt from this fee on variable rate loans for the purchase or construction of permanent residential property;
Expenses that it paid to conservatories, notary offices or tax administration on behalf of the customer;
Interest due up to the date of early repayment.
After requesting the transfer of the loan, institution A must provide institution B with all the information necessary for it to grant the new loan, such as the amount of the capital outstanding and the period of time of the initial loan agreement that has already elapsed.
In this case, the validity of the respective insurance agreements is not impaired where the conditions do not affect the risks covered by the insurance agreements concluded to guarantee the payment obligation under the agreement.
Decree-Law No 74-A/2017 (in Portuguese only)
Decree-Law No 80-A/2022 (in Portuguese only)
Law No 19/2022 (in Portuguese only)