Karachi: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday (January 6) disclosed that the bank lending to the housing and construction sector has seen an unprecedented growth of 85% during 2021, according to news sources.
As per the details, the SBP also reported that the banks’ outstanding credit for the construction sector has increased from PKR 163 billion to PKR 355 billion during the year 2021. It was mentioned that the loan disbursement under the prime minister’s low-cost housing scheme, commonly known as Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar, also increased to PKR 38 billion. It is pertinent to note that the government launched the Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar scheme in October 2020 to boost the housing sector. Under this scheme, the aim is to provide loans at cheap rates to low-income families for the construction of houses.
Moreover, the SBP has ordered banks to increase their housing and construction finance portfolios to 5% of their domestic private sector advances by December 2021. The central bank has also introduced incentives and penalties for compliance. The SBP has created an enabling regulatory environment for banks to increase housing finance including waiver of Debt Burden Ratio (DBR) in case of informal income, allowing acceptance of third party guarantees during the construction period, and introduction of standard facility offer letters by the banks.
Reportedly, Bank Al Habib, Meezan Bank, and Habib Bank were the main contributors to the significant growth of housing and construction financing.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
