The Russian government is ending the three year moratorium on using maternity capital and will allow it from early 2009 to repay mortgage loans and interest. Borrowers hit by the crisis will also get payment deferrals and restructuring, and banks support through AIZhK guarantees worth 500 billion rubles. The article explains how these measures should help families and stabilize the housing market.

The Russian government is abolishing the three-year moratorium on the use of maternity capital and is granting a deferral on mortgage payments for citizens who have fallen into a difficult financial situation because of the crisis.
These measures were adopted at an economic meeting held last Friday by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"Already at the beginning of 2009, citizens should be given the opportunity to use maternity capital funds to pay interest or repay mortgage loans. Amendments to the law and the budget need to be adopted," he said.
Maternity capital for these purposes may be spent both by those who have already taken out mortgage loans and by those who are planning to do so. Women who give birth in 2009 will also be able to use maternity capital for a mortgage.
Since 2007, families in which a second or subsequent child is born have been entitled to maternity capital. In 2009, the amount of maternity capital will be almost 300,000 rubles.
Putin reminded that today some borrowers have faced job losses and wage cuts, and they need to be given time to adapt and find another source of income. For these purposes, banks that issued mortgage loans are being asked to restructure citizens' 2009 payments. Banks will be able to obtain guarantees from the Agency for Mortgage Housing Lending (AHML) for these restructured loan agreements.
Deferral of repayment of principal or interest will not be free, Kudrin said. "If you have deferred a principal payment, you will continue to pay interest on it," he explained. The procedure for concluding agreements on deferral of mortgage debt will be in place by January, said Sberbank head German Gref.
In addition to helping citizens, the Russian government intends to support banks as well. AHML is ready to provide banks with guarantees worth 500 billion rubles for the issuance of mortgage bonds by them, with the possibility of refinancing these securities at the Central Bank. This will allow banks to receive additional liquidity already in 2009, which, among other things, will help stabilize the situation in the housing market, RIA Novosti reports.