Karachi: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has revised its Prudential Regulations for Housing Finance, introducing changes aimed at facilitating access to housing finance while updating lending and risk-management requirements for banks and development finance institutions (DFIs).
The revised regulations, which take immediate effect, supersede several earlier circulars issued between 2019 and 2021. Banks and DFIs have been directed to ensure compliance with the updated framework.
Under the revised rules, housing finance can be provided for purchasing a house or apartment, constructing a house on an owned plot, purchasing a plot for construction, extending or expanding an existing house, renovation, and installing renewable-energy solutions in housing units.
The maximum tenor for housing finance has been set at 30 years, while financing for renewable-energy solutions will have a maximum tenor of 10 years. The maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio has been set at 90:10, allowing financing of up to 90% of the value of the property, subject to applicable requirements.
The regulations also stipulate that total monthly amortisation payments for the proposed housing finance, combined with all other outstanding consumer-financing obligations, must not exceed 65% of the borrower’s net disposable income.
For borrowers earning informal income, banks and DFIs have been directed to use the informal-income estimation models circulated by the Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) when assessing repayment capacity.
The revised framework also introduces provisions for smaller housing loans. For financing of up to Rs5 million, banks and DFIs may extend loans by marking a lien on the property, including against a Green Property Certificate issued by the Punjab Land Records Authority or an equivalent certificate from the relevant provincial authority.
For financing exceeding Rs10 million, property assessment by a PBA-panel valuator has been made mandatory.
Banks and DFIs will also be required to obtain comprehensive insurance or takaful coverage for financed housing units and use standardised financing documents circulated by the PBA. Digital signatures on such documents must be verified through one-time passwords or other forms of two-factor authentication.
The revised regulations further set out a four-tier asset-classification framework comprising OAEM, Substandard, Doubtful and Loss, based on overdue periods of 90 days, 180 days, one year and two years, respectively. Provisioning requirements will be benchmarked against IFRS-9 Expected Credit Loss or Forced Sale Value-based calculations, whichever is higher.
The benefit linked to Forced Sale Value will cease five years after the date of classification. Rescheduling or restructuring of housing finance will be permitted only once within a two-year period, with any extension of the financing tenure capped at five years and subject to the overall 30-year maximum.
The SBP has also directed banks and DFIs to adopt simplified and standardised loan application forms for formal salaried individuals, formal businesses and informal-income applicants. The forms are to be made available in both physical and digital formats and in Urdu and English.
Samra Zulfiqar, a real estate analyst at Zameen.com, is passionate about finding projects that offer buyers the best returns. Her keen insights spotlight the market’s most promising opportunities.
