Given the government’s focus on affordable housing and the growth prospects that the segment offers, Tata Capital Housing Finance (TCHF), a subsidiary of Tata Capital, on Thursday, said it would focus on it and announced a special scheme for the segment.
“As against the current base rate of 10 per cent offered for home loans, we are offering a scheme, offering loans at a special interest rate of 9.75 per cent,’’ R. Vaithianathan, Managing Director, TCHF, told a press conference.
The scheme is valid till October 31 and properties falling under the classification of rural housing as per the National Housing Bank (NHB) guidelines will be offered home loans of up to Rs.15 lakh at 9.75 per cent.
Another sub-segment , ‘urban poor’ covers low income housing in urban areas for urban low income groups seeking loans up to Rs.10 lakh. Mr. Vaithianathan said the tenure of the loans will be 10-15 years.
“We will see the response to the scheme and if it is good, we will extend it.’’
Women have been included as co-applicants, “so delinquencies will be low and it acts as a means of women’s empowerment,’’ he said, adding that women need not be earning members.
“While demand for housing is growing at 15-16 per cent, affordable housing in India is growing at 20-22 per cent,’’ he added. Tata Capital financed affordable housing at individual level of Rs.300 crore last year, and this year it will touch Rs.600 crore.TCHF had a 60-member team with around 200 field staff. “We plan to triple this in the next two years as affordable housing requires a lot of field strength,’’ he said.
He said the TCHF’s total portfolio was at Rs.7,500 crore and the target was to grow at 30 per cent annually. “We hope to touch Rs.10,000 crore this year and Rs.18,000 crore in two years.’’
For funding, he said, the company hoped to raise around Rs.1,000 crore this year through private non-convertible debentures.