Payment holidays for mortgage holders in Poland will be extended through 2024 for people who meet the income criteria, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was quoted as saying by Polsat News on Wednesday, ahead of elections planned in October.

"The decision on this matter has already been made. We are extending the credit holidays for the entire next year. We will apply income criteria. We do not want those who are more affluent and wealthy to benefit from them," Morawiecki said.

He did not give details of the income criteria.

The payment holiday scheme was initially intended to help mortgage owners whose monthly installments surged due to rising interest rates by allowing them to skip a maximum of eight payments in 2022 and 2023, with no income criteria.

Poland's central bank cut interest rates by 75 basis points to 6.0% in September, much more than markets expected, as inflation slowed to 10.1% in August from a high of 18.4% in February. (Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk Editing by Mark Potter)