COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A decision by Danske Bank 's (CO:DANSKE) mortgage provider to double the downpayment required for home buyers drew criticism from the government on Tuesday.
"Danske Bank makes it more difficult for new home buyers to buy their first home with this decision," said business minister Simon Kollerup in a statement.
"It is very unfortunate in a situation where we have a great and shared responsibility to create stability around the economy, not least in the housing market," he added.
Danske Bank earlier on Tuesday said its mortgage lender, Realkredit Danmark, had doubled the requirement to the downpayment for home buyers to 10% of the purchase price.
The minister said he was surprised with the move by Danske Bank especially since the government last month released banks' so-called counter-cyclical capital buffer to give the lenders more leeway during the coronavirus crisis.
This triggered an additional 200 billion Danish crowns ($30 billion) was made available for lending.
Danske Bank declined to comment on the minister's statement.