More than five months have passed since an introduction of the state assistance scheme for people who have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis and aren't able to repay their mortgages and it has not been used by a single person yet.

"To this day we haven't received any requests for state aid in repaying a housing loan," said spokesman for Slovenska Sporitelna bank Stefan Frimmer.

It is the same in the case of Tatra Banka, whose spokesman Boris Gandel also noted that the stringent conditions set by the Finance Ministry could be to blame for public disinterest in the scheme.

VUB bank spokesperson Alena Walterova added that clients are more interested in the suspension of instalments than the scheme, which doesn't allow such practices.

The aid is targeted at people who have lost or will lose their jobs after January 1, 2009 and don't have any assets to use to pay mortgages on permanent residences signed before December 31, 2008. The value of the mortgage mustn't exceed €83,000.

(SLOVAKIA TODAY, TASR, ILLUSTRATION PHOTO)