Banks approve housing loans worth Rs7.4 billion in event

Banks approve housing loans worth Rs7.4 billion in event

The Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) housing scheme received an astounding response during a two-day event in Faisalabad, where banks granted conditional approvals for housing loans totaling approximately Rs7.4 billion.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released a statement on Monday, highlighting the success of the first-ever MPMG Mela organized by the State Bank.

The event, held on March 19-20, 2022, witnessed more than 30,000 visitors seeking information about the MPMG initiative and applying for loans through the banks’ streamlined one-window facilitation process. The total applications logged in during the event amounted to a staggering Rs18 billion.

Against these applications, banks provided conditional approvals amounting to approximately Rs7.4 billion, signifying a strong interest and trust in the MPMG scheme.

Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor State Bank, shared insights into the MPMG journey during the inauguration ceremony. He emphasized the collaborative efforts of SBP, the government, NAPHDA, and banks in consistently increasing the number of financing applications and approvals. Banks are currently approving over Rs4.5 billion and disbursing around Rs2.3 billion per week under the MPMG scheme.

As a result of MPMG, financing applications for affordable housing, which were nearly non-existent around 15 months ago, have now reached Rs357 billion. Of this, Rs157 billion in applications have been approved, with Rs56 billion already disbursed.

The inauguration ceremony featured addresses from Faiz Ullah Kamoka, Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, and Farrukh Habib, Minister of State for Information. Both speakers underscored the government’s commitment to promoting housing and construction finance, especially for low and affordable housing. MPMG beneficiaries receive financing at fixed and subsidized rates, with the government providing subsidies for this underserved sector.

The event was attended by bank CEOs, Faisalabad’s dignitaries, top businessmen, university VCs, and media representatives. Twenty-five banks and 28 builders/developers set up stalls during the Mela, facilitating the application process, processing after eCIB clearance, calculating installment amounts, and issuing conditional approval letters.

Despite scorching heat, long queues of interested applicants formed at bank stalls. To encourage healthy competition, banks were evaluated across five categories during the Mela, with Meezan Bank securing the most innovative stall and highest application logins. Bank of Punjab (BOP) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were recognized as the quickest banks in offering the first conditional approval letter, Allied Bank Limited (ABL) provided the highest number of conditional approval letters, and Bank Al-Habib received praise for the best quality of service, as voted by visitors.

Senior officials from the SBP monitored the progress at bank and developer stalls throughout the event, addressing complaints from interested applicants on the spot. The presence of bank presidents and regional heads further aligned with the key objective of the Mela – to assure the general public of the accessibility and benefits of financing under the flagship MPMG scheme.