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| Sunday, 28 September 2003 |
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SMIB takes housing dream to Middle-East by Hiran H. Senewiratne The State Mortgage and Investment Bank (SMIB) will appoint representatives in the Middle-East to promote its housing loans among Sri Lankan employees. Initially, SMIB will appoint an authorised representative in Dubai. It will be extended to other Gulf countries subsequently. The SMIB's main objective is to assist locals employed abroad to remit their foreign currency to Sri Lanka, to settle housing loans, said SMIB Chairman J.J. Rajakaruna. He said the majority of Middle-East employees, who work as housemaids are from rural areas and their main purpose of going abroad is building a house. This system will help them to obtain housing loans without any problems, Rajakaruna added. As awareness on money remitting procedures among Middle-East employees is very low, the SMIB introduced this system, he added. Moreover, a special Cabinet subcommittee has been appointed to look into currency remitting problems. The representative will be directed by SMIB to assist potential customers on applying for an SMIB housing loan and to help them remit money. The representative will 'sell' SMIB products among foreign employees and assist them to obtain loans, he added. The representative will be entitled for two commissions once a potential customer is introduced to the bank and also after the loan is approved, depending on the amount, Rajakaruna said. The commission is paid only after the loan is processed. Nearly 1.2 million Sri Lankans are employed in the Middle-East. Foreign currency remitted by them contributes heavily to the country's GDP growth. SMIB, known as the 'housing bank to the nation', had performed well. The number of loan applications processed during the first half of this year has recorded a 25 per cent growth over the same period of 2002. Despite the reduction of lending rates, the bank was able to record a net profit of Rs 244 million for the six months of the year compared to Rs 156 million recorded during the corresponding period of 2002. SMIB, the biggest housing bank in the country, has a total portfolio of Rs 8 billion. |
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