Prime Minister Imran Khan has lauded the leading role of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the efforts of the banking industry in the implementation of the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) scheme.
A ceremony was held at the Prime Minister House on Friday to mark the approval of Rs. 100 billion in home finance by the banks for the government’s flagship MPMG scheme under the theme, “Khawab Ke Tabeer Ab Tez Ter”.
The Prime Minister witnessed ceremonial keys being handed over to six beneficiaries of MPMG who were from different regions and represented various segments of Pakistan. Over 20 other beneficiaries of MPMG also participated in the ceremony.
It is to note that under the low-cost housing Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) scheme, the commercial banks have received applications of Rs. 263 billion while approvals of Rs. 109 billion have already been made till December 20, 2021.
Over the last nine months, the approved amount increased by Rs. 98 billion. The disbursement has also increased from almost zero in March 2021 to Rs. 32 billion by December 20, 2021.
The Prime Minister distributed awards among top-performing banks with respect to approvals and disbursements. He urged the banks to accelerate their efforts to help realize the dream of every Pakistani owning their houses.
He expressed pleasure that low and middle-income citizens, ignored earlier, were being served by the banks and obtaining home finance.
The ceremony was attended by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit Baltistan, Ali Amin Gandhapur, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue, Senator Shaukat Tareen, Governor SBP, Chairman NAPHDA [Naya Pakistan Housing & Development Authority], Minister for Housing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr. Amjad Ali, and Presidents/CEOs of banks.
Central Bank Update
Expressing his views on the occasion, Governor SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir, shared the progress of MPMG since its inception. He highlighted that all stakeholders were taking steps in the right direction to translate the Prime Minister’s vision of increasing homeownership into reality.
Shedding light on the theme of the event, he mentioned that during the last month, banks on average approved Rs. 4 billion and disbursed Rs. 1.6 billion on weekly basis. He underscored the need to maintain and accelerate this momentum. There are six banks that disbursed over Rs. 2 billion each and seven banks that disbursed over Rs. 1 billion each in the span of nine months under MPMG, he underlined.
The SBP Governor said that growth in MPMG was attributed to various measures taken by the Government, SBP, and NAPHDA to provide a conducive environment for the banking industry to enter the untapped market of housing and construction finance.
He mentioned the simplification of a complex procedure, a significant reduction in documentation requirement, development of a model to assess informal income, effective redressal mechanism as examples of this support. The communication initiatives like Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Meri Kahani — a series of testimonials of MPMG beneficiaries — have also been instrumental in encouraging others to apply.
Earlier, in a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction, and Development (NCCHCD), the Governor SBP apprised the Prime Minister of the developments in housing and construction finance.
He recalled that in July 2020, in line with the government’s vision of boosting economic activity, SBP mandated banks to increase their housing and construction finance to at least five percent of their domestic private sector advances by December 31, 2021. Five banks have already achieved their December 2021 targets.
Source: Pro Pakistani