SBP Urges Banks for Speedy Low-Cost Housing Loan Approvals

As per previous cost-effective housing schemes like Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and Low-cost Housing Schemes in Islamabad by the Government of Pakistan which have already been initiated, and general people are taking advantage of them. In this regard, now the Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday urged the commercial banks to speed up the pace of approvals by banks to meet the requests of the public for financing low-cost housing as it was reported that the performance of the banks for disbursement of loans for low-cost housing has been very slow. The banks as per the latest information, have approved only 78 billion against the loan application seeking Rs 200 billion. The actual disbursed amount has been reported to be as low as merely 18 bn for SBP Low Income Housing Schemes.

The banks have been extremely careful while disbursing loans to the masses despite a clear instruction of the government coupled with the encouragement of the Central Bank. The governor SBP as per the vision of the Prime Minister to provide housing facilities to the Low-income group of the society has urged all the stakeholders to play their role to materialize the dreams of the masses to have a house of their own under the “Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG)” scheme.  The governor also appreciated the banks for their cooperation to extend loans to the masses which did not use to happen in the past. He said, “when the journey of MPMG started last year, low-cost housing finance was almost non-existent as commercial banks rarely ventured in this area fearing its inherent risks.

In July last year, the central bank had advised the commercial banks to increase lending for the housing and construction sector to at least 5 percent of their private domestic sector advances by December 2021. To make the banks follow the instruction the central bank advised quarterly targets to the banks and by the end of September 2021, the banks have been able to achieve 94 Percent of their targets. The strong commitment of the government, SBP, and other stakeholders for the promotion of the housing and construction sector has started bearing fruits. The banks have also established a joint call center to facilitate the masses regarding MPMG. The public can call on 0-33-77-786-786 for queries. The call center would assist the people who face difficulties in seeking loans under the MPMG scheme. Earlier the SBP had introduced an online portal to resolve public issues.