The Government-owned housing lender Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores (Infonavit) announced that it would begin offering fixed-rate mortgages and remove caps on the size of the loans it offers to its members, i.e., private formal sector employees who contribute 5 percent of their income to the fund. Mortgage payments are directly deductible from the monthly payment. This decision opens the fund to higher income members who prefer a fixed-rate mortgage. Infonavit will compete in this asset class with private banks which have in recent years rapidly increased their mortgage portfolios. Mortgage loans account for 17 percent of all outstanding bank loans in Mexico (CNBV).