Govt offers public sector workers with FX mortgages exchange rate limit, grant

Public sector workers with foreign currency-denominated mortgages will get interest subsidies and a one-off grant, depending on the number of children in their family, if they join an exchange rate limit system, the National Economy Ministry said on Wednesday.

The government plans to submit the bill on the system to Parliament before it meets for its first spring session on February 13, the ministry said.

Eligible public sector workers may declare at their lenders their intention to participate in the system after the law comes into force, it added.

The grant will cover the difference between the size of repayments from February 1 and the size from the time the borrowers are able to use the exchange rate limit system, but no later than July 2012. This gives borrowers the full benefits of the system from the start of February, the ministry said.

The interest subsidy is three percentage points for families without any children. Families with children get an extra percentage point of subsidies for each child.

Public sector employees with foreign currency-denominated mortgages may avail of the programme only if they declared their intention to participate in an early forex repayment scheme at discounted exchange rates by the deadline at the end of the year but were unable to make the full repayment.