SBP determined to boost housing finance

Governor Baqir chairs meeting, discusses housing projects and way forward

KARACHI: Housing finance is a priority area for the central bank and in this regard the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will play a facilitative and supportive role for its promotion in the country.

These views were expressed by SBP Governor Reza Baqir in the first meeting of the Steering Committee on Housing and Construction Finance. The committee had been formed to prepare and implement a road map to ensure sustainable market-led financing of housing projects and mortgages in order to promote the development of housing and construction industry in the country.

The meeting, chaired by the governor, was attended by officials from the banking sector, who deliberated on the terms of reference of the committee and the way forward.

Member banks expressed their keenness to work with the SBP and the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) to promote financing of identified projects.

After detailed deliberations, the committee chairman constituted sub-committees that would work in parallel on different work streams including developer finance, end-user housing finance, use of technology, development of capital market and long-term yield curve, risk mitigation mechanism and removal of legal and regulatory hurdles to housing finance.

The committee also discussed two initial pilot projects - one on the government land model and the other on private sector builders’ model. It was decided that the volunteering banks would hold meetings with NAPHDA on financing for the government land model and developer finance during the current week and would present their reports in the next weekly meeting of the steering committee. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2020.

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