25 October, Minsk /Anna Kot - BELTA/. OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" plans to allocate about Br1.5 trillion for preferential housing loans by the end of 2012. This was announced today to journalists by the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Belarusbank Ilya Shalanki, in response to a question from a BELTA correspondent. Belarusbank participates in the state preferential lending program, Ilya Shalanki recalled. "To date, more than 80% of the planned annual funding volume has already been utilized. Another approximately Br1.5 trillion will be used for preferential housing loans by the end of the year," he noted. "Everything is proceeding according to schedule, and the planned Br7.5 trillion will be utilized in a timely manner," emphasized Ilya Shalanki. Speaking about whether a reduction in interest rates on real estate loans by Belarusbank can be expected by the end of the year, the bank's representative noted that such a decision is made taking into account the inflation rate, the refinancing rate of the National Bank, and the economic situation. "Currently, economic processes have slowed down somewhat, so there are no preconditions for reducing interest rates on real estate loans at the moment. However, it is not excluded that if the situation improves, we will do so by the end of the year. If the refinancing rate decreases, we will definitely react to it," said Ilya Shalanki. -0-

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