‘1,250,000 square meters of dwellings will be built in 2006, with the volume of mortgage loans to natural persons coming to 3,7bn RUR this year and 5.3bn RUR in 2007,’ First Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government for Economic Policy and Prospective Development Galina Kovaleva announced at the 4th international banking forum called Russian Banks in the 21st century.

‘In order to support builders who operate in rural areas and for civil servants as well as young professionals, we have allotted 182.1m RUR from the regional budget. Young families will also be given subsidies (the total of 55m RUR). What is more, the Government decided to provide construction guarantees worth 1.5bn RUR. The total volume of mortgage loans given by commercial banks to regional clients came to 1.9bn RUR in 2005, of which Sverdlovsk Region Mortgage Lending Agency JSC gave 1,058 mortgage loans worth 690.5m RUR,’ Ms Kovaleva said.

‘Within the first six months of 2006. the banks have provided their clients with 2,244 loans worth 2.3bn RUR, including 1,161 mortgages worth 1.69bn RUR refinanced by Sverdlovsk Region Mortgage Lending Agency: this is 3.3 times more in terms of quantity and 5.1 times more in terms of worth than in first half of 2005. Young families have obtained 1,026 mortgages worth over 800m RUR,’ reports FinMarket quoting Ms Kovaleva.