The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) says that as a result of several efforts and government support, lending for the housing finance scheme had picked up momentum.
Total applications of PKR154 billions has been received by the banks and financing of over PKR59 billions had been approved till the last month of this year.
Pace of disbursement has also picked up pace as they reached PKR11.5 billions by the end of August, showing an 49%. increase of around PKR3.8 billions.
The SBP is taking various enabling steps since the announcement of the Mera Ghar Mera Pakistan scheme last year. SBP introduced simple application form. They adopted informal income assessment model. SBP also provide relaxations in prudential regulations. They installed help desks and a complaint portal at all its field offices.
Banks are accepting applications from over 8,000 dedicated branches across the country on the instructions of the SBP. Each bank has specific targets allocated by the central bank. Each bank has an e-tracking system and a dedicated joint call centre for applicants.
The central bank expects bank finance to gain further momentum in the days to come. However, the cost of construction has sharply increased due to inflation and devaluation of local currency. That can affect the