NBS gets approval to increase the ceiling for housing loans
The Minister for Finance, Ashni Singh.
Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Finance will today formally hand over to the New Building Society (NBS), the relevant approvals necessary to provide for the ceiling increase applicable to mortgages issued by the financial institution.
The move, according to the Ministry of Finance, coincides with “the Government’s continuing drive to increase access to mortgage financing for prospective homeowners as well as expanding the housing drive across the country.”
The announcement was initially made during his presentation on the 2021 Budget last February. The Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Ashni Singh, at the time told the National Assembly that the decision had been made, aware of the fact that NBS “has been an important source of funding for home building and home ownership over the years. ”
Currently, the ceiling on loans the NBS can give is $ 12 million and as such, Dr. Singh, “we propose to approve the ceiling increase to $ 15 million.”
This, he said, will also enable lenders wishing to borrow within that range to access NBS funding.
The move by the administration follows on from a similar move the previous year when a ceiling of $ 8 million to $ 10 million was announced in the ceiling on low-income housing loans that can be obtained through commercial banks under the low-income housing loan program supported by government.
According to Dr. Singh, “this year, we would like to announce a further increase of $ 10 million to $ 12 million, which will make housing loans more affordable for lenders within that range.”
It had further indicated at the time, the resumption of the Government’s housing lot distribution and land titles program, the restoration of the $ 30 million limit on loans eligible for mortgage interest relief (MIR).
In addition, he spoke to raising the limit for low-income housing loans for corporate tax relief in the banking sector to $ 10 million.
According to Dr. Singh, the measures are “combined to stimulate the resumption of activity in the construction sector and to make immediate home ownership more affordable.”
Addressing the housing issue in the 2021 Budget Estimates, Dr. Singh told the House that home ownership is one of the basic pillars on which the Guyanese dream is built; as such, his administration would continue its policy of creating decent and affordable housing for all Guyanese.
He had underlined before his party – the Civic Progressive Party (PPP / C) – a government-deferred office that in 2015, a total of 22,964 house lots were allocated “in our last five years in office.”
This contrasted with the 7,534 house lots under coalition administration during his five-year term of office from 2015 to 2020.
According to Dr. Singh, the Government’s commitment over the next five years is to make 50,000 housing lots available across the country and that the main partner in this exciting and evolving transformation will be the private sector which together with Government will create the incentives and opportunities for affordable housing, for people to own their own home.