KARACHI: Banks have approved Rs180 billion worth of loans under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Scheme and disbursed Rs66 billion for affordable housing, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.
The central bank in a statement said commercial banks received applications for housing finance amounting to Rs409 billion till April 11, 2022, which is more than seven times Rs57 billion approved a year ago.
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It said banks have approved Rs180 billion and disbursed Rs66 billion.
The SBP said similar trends can also be observed in the overall financing to the housing and construction sector by banks. Banks almost doubled their housing and construction finance portfolio to Rs404 billion as of March 31, 2022 from Rs204 billion a year earlier.
In increasing their housing and construction finance, banks have also achieved, almost 100%, the first quarter target of Rs405 billion for 2022.
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“To improve provision of financing for the housing and construction sector to increase adequate housing in the country and boost construction sector activities, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) with the support of Government of Pakistan has taken several measures since July 2020,” the central bank said.
“In October 2020, the Government of Pakistan augmented these efforts by introducing the Government Markup Subsidy Scheme, now commonly known as Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) Scheme.”
 said on Thursday.){kind=link}