Mexican homeowners will be able to obtain fixed-rate mortgages for the very first time via the state-controlled lender Infonavit.
According to a Bloomberg News report, Infonavit is expected to make 30-year fixed-rate mortgages available later this spring. Infonavit is also planning to issue peso-denominated mortgage-backed securities next year to match income with obligations; these securities have not been made available for sale since 2004.
According to Gabriel Casillas, chief Mexico economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., the new fixed-rate loans from Infonavit can be seen as ‘an advance in the credibility in Banco de Mexico,’ a reference to the nation's central bank.
Infonavit was founded in 1972 as a state agency to provide Mexicans with access to affordable housing. It is Latin America's largest mortgage lender, and as of 2010, it had more than 5 million mortgages on its books.