Govt’s flagship housing scheme gains momentum with approval of over Rs. 59 bn financing

KARACHI, Sep 08 (APP):The government’s flagship markup subsidy scheme Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) has picked up momentum as the banks approved housing finance of over Rs. 59 billion up till August 31 this year, out of applications of Rs. 154 billion received since the launch of scheme.

According to a news release issued by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday, by August 31, 2021, disbursement under the scheme has reached Rs. 11.5 billion, showing an increase of around Rs. 3.8 billion or 49% in August 2021.

On average, to date banks have approved 38 percent of amount applied and 19 percent of approved amount has been disbursed. These approval and disbursement ratios have similarly risen over the past few months as banks have put in place the needed upfront investment in procedures and technology to process applications for low-cost housing.

Under the scheme the banks disbursed amounts in different stages of construction or purchase. Thus the pace of disbursement is contingent upon the speed of construction and completion of purchasing process.
Since the announcement of MPMG scheme last year, SBP has taken various enabling steps such as introducing standardized and simple application form; adopting informal income assessment model; providing relaxations in prudential regulations; establishing help desks at all SBP field offices; and, designing a complaint portal supported by a network of focal persons of all banks across all geographical areas. On the instructions of SBP, banks are accepting MPMG applications from over 8,000 dedicated branches across the country. Further, SBP has also allocated targets to each bank under MPMG. An e-tracking system within each bank and a dedicated joint call center for facilitation of the applicants has also been established. Naya Pakistan Housing Development Authority (NAPHDA) and Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), a representative body of banks, are fully supporting MPMG.

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