Better recovery leans banks to housing loans

Many banks and other financial institutions are interested in providing home loans as recovery of such loans is satisfactory. They have also slashed interest on such loans.Experts say now customers can easily take housing loan to buy flat or for building houses.
According to high officials of some private banks, the customers of this sector are more aware of formalities in repaying loan. As a result, the banks are giving prominence for providing loan to housing than to other sectors also they have made the processes easy.
According to some bank officials, real estate experienced a rebound in sales in previous year. This has been possible after a reasonable reduction in property prices coupled with lower financing rates.
Anis A Khan, Managing Director of Mutual Trust Bank told The Asian Age, "Investment in housing sector is very safe. Now the rate of interest is very low. The customers are getting single digit rate of interest giving people an opportunity to own a house.
Sources in Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) said compared with the ordinary loans the number of defaulters is less in housing sector. In 2006, the bank loan defaulters was 5.45 percent while the defaulters in housing sector was 1.1 percent. In 2016, the rate of loan defaulters stood at 8.68 percent which was 9.31 percent in 2017.
At present, defaulters in housing sector are only 3 percent. Alamgir Shamsul Alamin, president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) said repayment of loan provided for purchase of flats seen to be 99 percent as those were repaid on time. As a result, banks and financial institutions do not face any risk for providing loan in this sector.
The central bank data shows since 2014 housing loan growth has been steady increasing. In 2014 total loan disbursement was 4.93 percent in housing sector out of total loan. In 2015, it was 5.21 percent, in 2016, it was 5.96 percent and in 2017 the housing loan was 5.24 percent.
It is learnt that some banks, including Standard Chartered, Mutual Trust, and Islamic, IFIC, BRAC and Eastern bank are providing 50 percent loan for purchasing a flat.
Among the financial institutions, National Housing Finance and Investment, Delta-BRAC Housing Finance Corporation (DBH), IDLC, IPDC, Lankabangla Finance has also been providing loan for purchase of flat. Their rate of interest is between 9 and 12 percent.