Mortgage loans in Portugal recorded the fastest growth in 23 years: Debt to banks reached 119.1 billion euros

The rapid growth in the mortgage market in Portugal has reached a new level.

According to Banco de Portugal's August 2026 data, the household's mortgage loan balance to banks increased to 119.1 billion euros.

Annual transaction-based growth was 11.2%.

This is the highest growth rate recorded since February 2003.

Increased by more than 1 billion euros in one month

At the end of July, the mortgage loan balance was approximately 118 billion euros.

Balance in August:

It increased by 1.038 billion euros, reaching 119.1 billion euros.

Annual growth increased from 11% in July to 11.2% in August.

Banco de Portugal states that this is the highest rate recorded since 2003.

What exactly does 11.2% indicate?

The annual conversion rate used by Banco de Portugal does not simply compare the loan balance on two dates.

While transactions such as loan granting and loan repayments are taken into account in the calculation, effects other than the loan transaction, such as exchange rates, are eliminated.

Therefore, 11.2% is an indicator to measure the real credit movement in the mortgage market.

Consumer loans also accelerated

The acceleration was not only seen in mortgage loans.

The total of consumer and other loans increased by 334 million euros in August, reaching 35.8 billion euros.

Annual growth in consumer loans reached its highest level since February 2020, at 9.7%.

With yesterday's mixed interest data must read

This data becomes more remarkable when combined with another mortgage change that PTNewsHub reported the day before.

The share of mixed-interest contracts in new housing loans has increased to approximately 80%.

In other words, two developments are happening at the same time in Portugal:

Mortgage debt stock is growing at the fastest pace in the last 23 years.

Most of the new borrowers prefer the mixed interest model, which is fixed in the first period and variable in the subsequent period.

For this reason, the end of the fixed interest periods of these loans and their transition to Euribor will be an issue that should also be monitored in the coming years.

Deposits in the bank decreased in August

There is another remarkable figure in the same Banco de Portugal report.

Household deposits in banks decreased by 2.598 billion euros compared to July, falling to 204.2 billion euros.

Most of this was due to the decrease in demand deposits.

However, despite the monthly decrease, deposits are still 3.7% higher than in the same period last year.

Resources

Banco de Portugal — Empréstimos e depósitos bancários: agosto de 2026, 25 September 2026

https://bpstat.bportugal.pt/conteudos/noticias/3148/

Dinheiro Vivo — September 25, 2026

https://dinheirovivo.dn.pt/economia/stock-de-emprstimos-para-habitao-tem-em-agosto-maior-subida-anual-desde-2003