BB's housing scheme now getting responses

A file photo shows blocks of high rise apartments. Central Bank's housing loan scheme is becoming popular after recent changes in its terms and conditions.

Finally, the Bangladesh Bank's housing loan refinance programme has started getting responses after the central bank softened some conditions of the scheme in May this year.
“We have provided about Tk 12 crore refinanced loans for lenders only in June this year, while the total amount of refinanced loan was Tk 32 crore in the previous 11 months of the just concluded fiscal year,” a senior official of BB said.
“The changes in the housing scheme have made the difference. We are getting good responses from borrowers now,” said an official of the National Housing Finance and Investment Ltd.
In May 15, the BB slashed the interest rate to 9 percent from 10 percent and raised the monthly income ceiling of borrowers at Tk 50,000 from Tk 30,000.
The BB in fiscal 2007-08 launched the Tk 300 crore refinancing scheme for housing loan. Borrowers are entitled to maximum Tk 20 lakh for a period of 20 years. But only Tk 7.79 crore was refinanced by the BB between July 2007 and April 15 2008 out of Tk 100 crore earmarked for the fiscal 2007-08.
But on June 30 2008, the BB's refinancing figure stood at Tk 46.34 crore.
Of the Tk 46.34 crore, Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd, known as DBH, alone disbursed Tk 31.10 crore or 67.11 percent, according to BB statistics. The other major lenders are Industrial Development Leasing Company (IDLC) (Tk 4.55 crore), Peoples Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (Tk 3.87 crore) and Mercantile Bank Tk (1.11 crore).
According to the revised policy, any person with a monthly income of less than Tk 50,000 will only be eligible to loan highest Tk 20 lakh from 15 commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions either for buying or constructing an apartment of maximum 1,250 square feet in six divisional cities along with Tongi, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Savar areas.
The scheme has barred government employees and others who are entitled to housing loans from their respective organisations from receiving the special housing loans.
People working with private companies, which have housing loan scheme for their employees, will also not get the loan. Moreover, the loan is only for those who or their relations (wife/husband and children) do not own any house or apartment in the designated areas.
If a person has already taken housing loans from a bank or financial institution will also not be considered under the scheme.