Banco de Portugal Lowers Maximum Debt-to-Income Limit to 45% for New Loans
The Portuguese central bank has implemented stricter macroprudential lending rules, effectively reducing consumer borrowing capacity by lowering the recommended maximum debt-service ratio from 50% to 45%.
Effective August 1, 2026, new macroprudential rules from the Banco de Portugal dictate that financial institutions must tighten their credit assessment metrics. The maximum recommended debt-to-income ratio (taxa de esforço), which aggregates all household monthly credit obligations, dropped to 45%. Concurrently, banks have seen their allowance to bypass these guidelines reduced from 15% to 10%. However, a favorable adjustment allows borrowers aged up to 35 to access 40-year maximum loan maturities, a terms cap previously reserved for younger age brackets.