The Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers (Infonavit) announced a measure to freeze the balance and monthly payments of approximately two million credits granted under the Times Minimum Wage (VSM) scheme.
“64% of the mortgage portfolio was designed under a model in which, even though the beneficiary complied with his payments, the balance of his debt and his monthly payments increased each year, making it an unpayable debt. This injustice affects 4 million families,” he indicated.
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Why has Infonavit decided to freeze credits?
The VSM scheme, implemented until 2013, adjusts both the monthly payments and the credit balance based on the increases in the minimum wage and inflationa strategy that sought to preserve the value of money.
However, in practice, it has created a problem for millions of families who make their payments on time but see how their debt continues to grow year after year.
Octavio Romero Oropeza, director of Infonavit, explained that this adjustment system has been the cause of a progressive increase in the balance and monthly payments of the loans, becoming practically unpayable for many workers.
The decision of Infonavit of freeze los credits seeks to avoid additional growth in the amounts payable and thus offer relief to the beneficiaries of this scheme.
How to know if your Infonavit credit is frozen?
He freezing program will automatically apply to those credits granted before 2014 under the VSM scheme. The beneficiaries interested in check if your credit has been selected you can perform the following steps:
- Online consultation: Starting November 18, beneficiaries will be able to check on the official Infonavit website if their credit has been included in the freezing program.
- Account statement review: Loans granted under the VSM scheme that present annual increases in the monthly payment are candidates to be benefited by this measure.
- Visit to service centers Infonavit: It is estimated that 1.5 million workers will have to go to Infonavit service centers to confirm other additional benefits that could apply in their particular situation.
What is the VSM scheme and how does it affect workers?
The VSM scheme was introduced as a credit modality in which the balance and monthly payments are adjusted annually based on increases in the minimum wage.
The amounts to be paid increase each year, which, in periods of increases in the minimum wage or inflation, considerably increases the balance owed and the monthly payments.
Although initially the VSM intended that the Infonavit credits were maintained at values in line with purchasing power, in practice this adjustment has been unfavorable for millions of workers, whose payments have increased rapidly year after year.