Banks receive applications worth Rs200bn under 'Mera Ghar' scheme

KARACHI: Banks have received a whopping Rs200 billion worth of applications under the government’s ambitious low-cost housing scheme, “Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar”.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that banks have received applications worth over Rs200 billion as of Oct 18. Out of them, Rs78bn worth of applications have been approved while loans worth Rs18bn have already been disbursed, it added.

SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir appreciated “the progress made by the banking industry in supporting low-cost housing finance for first time home owners under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar.”

He stressed the need to accelerate the pace of approvals by banks to keep up with the requests for financing and to ensure that people don’t get discouraged by delays in processing loans.

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Governor Reza Baqir also asked all the stakeholders to increase the outreach of the scheme.

“When the journey of MPMG [Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar] started last year, low-cost housing finance was almost non-existent as commercial banks rarely ventured in this area fearing its inherent risk,” he said.

“However, the strong commitment of government especially NAPHDA, SBP, banks, and other stakeholders to promote housing and construction activities in the country is beginning to result in considerable increase in finance for housing and construction.”