Lisbon, June 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's state-owned economic development bank, the Banco Português de Fomento has €500 million available this year to finance housing cooperatives, the bank’s chairman said on Monday at a press conference in Lisbon.

The €500 million represents the value of the guarantee that Banco de Fomento (BPF) provides to commercial banks for the financing of these projects, so that they feel more "comfortable" in granting loans to housing cooperatives.

Earlier this year, Gonçalo Regalado stated that Banco de Fomento has €1 billion available for public-private partnerships to build affordable housing.

In January, on the sidelines of an event in Lisbon, Regalado had spoken of a total of €4 billion to support the construction and renovation of affordable homes, including housing cooperatives, but at that time the figure allocated to each area was not yet known.

Today, he explained that the BPF expects to mobilise €1.5 billion for housing this year (€500 million for housing cooperatives and €1 billion for public-private partnerships) and that the €4 billion figure is the amount forecast up to 2028.

“We are starting with housing cooperatives, which are more agile, then public-private partnerships, and finally, with a strong focus, the financing of public housing,” Regalado told journalists.

In 2025, there was no financing from the Banco de Fomento earmarked for housing.

IM // AYLS

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