Safe 2% loan at PKO BP – everything you need to know

This solution is an important help for many Poles, especially young ones, for whom a mortgage loan with the current market interest rate is difficult to obtain. Because real estate prices are high, buying your own apartment or house may be difficult. The Safe Credit 2% program comes to the rescue.

– The government’s Safe Credit 2% program is a good solution for people planning to purchase their first property and will introduce real changes in the availability of mortgage loans. Applications can be submitted to branches of PKO Bank Polski that provide mortgage services. There are a total of 516 of them throughout the country. Additionally, applications can be submitted to 94 bank agencies. We expect great interest and we are well prepared for it, emphasizes Dariusz Szwed, vice-president of the management board of PKO Bank Polski, who heads the work of the management board.

– PKO Bank Polski has always been involved in solutions prepared by BGK that make it easier for young people to buy their first apartment. We participated in both the Family on Your Own program and the Apartment for the Young program, and since September 1 last year, the bank’s offer includes a mortgage loan under the “Apartment without own contribution”. In the case of the first one, we achieved a 28% market share. It is particularly important for us to engage in solutions that enable young people to realize their dreams, and their own first apartment is the most important goal for families, guaranteeing stability and security – adds Dariusz Szwed.

People interested in a loan can make an appointment at a bank branch via the contact form or the iPKO website. They can also go straight to the branch that services mortgage loans – the list of branches is available on the bank’s website.

By August 23, customers had submitted approximately 13,000 applications to participate in the program, of which approximately one thousand loan agreements had been signed, and 10% of the applications were rejected.

The attractiveness of the offer means that there are many people willing to take out a loan. Therefore, those applying for it must be aware that the waiting time for a credit decision may be longer. The bank has automated many processes previously performed manually, which improves service. Actions are also planned to increase the efficiency of processing applications from intermediaries, which will allow for a more effective process of distributing loan applications. The process may also be accelerated by providing customers who have submitted an application to PKO BP with information that they have received a loan from another bank and that the application is no longer valid.

What is the Safe Credit 2% program?

The 2% Safe Credit program gives you the opportunity to benefit from subsidies from the Government Housing Fund during the first 10 years of the loan agreement. The customer is guaranteed a fixed interest rate for 5 years.

The loan value is a maximum of PLN 500,000. PLN for a single person or PLN 600,000. PLN for a married couple, a couple with a child or a single person with a child. The minimum repayment period is 15 years.

The loan can be obtained without any own contribution, and the financing may cover up to 100% of the expenses related to the purpose being financed, if BGK covers part of the loan with a guarantee.

You can also apply for a loan if you have your own contribution, but its value cannot exceed PLN 200,000. zloty. If the own contribution is only an undeveloped plot or a plot with construction started before July 1, 2023, then the value of this contribution and the amount of the loan cannot exceed PLN 1 million in total.

The funds obtained under the loan can be used for the purchase of an apartment or house, also with finishing, construction and finishing of the house and the purchase of a construction plot for the construction of a house, as well as for a construction contribution to a housing cooperative.

The loan to complete the construction can be obtained until December 31, 2025, its amount in the case of a single person will be up to PLN 100,000. PLN, and for a married couple, a couple with a child or a single person with a child – up to PLN 150,000.

When using subsidies, the loan is repaid in decreasing installments, but after their completion, the installment amount becomes equal. However, it is possible to submit an application and benefit from decreasing installments over the following years.

When applying for a loan from the program, it is important that there is no price limit for 1 sq m. purchased property. The commission fee is only 1%, which is transferred to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego when the guarantee is used under the Safe Credit program 2% (of the loan amount covered by the guarantee).

The agreement can be concluded by the end of 2027, in some cases – by the end of 2025.

Who is the 2% loan for?

According to the regulations, the Safe 2% loan program can be used by a single person, a married couple or a couple raising at least one child. A person applying for a loan must not be 45 years old on the day of submitting the application (in the case of couples, at least one person must meet this condition).

The condition is also that none of the persons submitting the application until the date of granting the loan may own a flat or a single-family house, may not have a cooperative right to a flat or a single-family house, and is not or has been a party to a mortgage loan agreement concluded in within 36 months prior to the date of submission of the application.

Another element of the First Apartment program is the Housing Account, which can be opened at PKO BP. Its goal is to collect funds for your own apartment or house. By making regular payments to your account, you can receive a housing bonus and benefit from interest exemption from income tax.

You can combine these two elements of the program and first decide to save on the Housing Account, and then apply for a 2% loan to buy an apartment or house.

PKO BP supports housing investments

The Safe Credit 2% program is not the first solution facilitating the purchase of an apartment for young people in which PKO Bank Polski takes part. In the last 20 years, two government housing programs have been carried out to help people buy real estate. These were the Family on Your Own Program, implemented in 2007-2012, and the Mieszkanie dla Młodych Program, which was available in 2014-2018. In these programs, PKO Bank Polski achieved 28 and 22 percent market share, respectively.

These products were available in the offer of PKO Bank Polski, and from September 1, 2022, a housing loan is offered under the terms of the “Mieszkanie bez own contribution” program. It assumes financing with a mortgage loan of up to 100 percent of expenses related to the purchase or construction of real estate. People who have creditworthiness but do not have sufficient savings for a down payment can apply for a loan.