BoC offers low-interest loans for NRFC account holders

The Bank of Ceylon and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) signed an agreement to jointly launch a Sarani housing loan scheme with only 5% interest, to help migrant workers to build a house soon after they start their work abroad at a ceremony at the SLBFE.

This scheme will provide lower-income migrant workers with a lower-interest housing loan that can be used to buy land and build a house, build a house, buy a house, repair or extend a house, or redeem an existing housing loan. They can borrow 90% of the estimated value up to a maximum of Rs. 300,000 and repay over five years.

The interest rate payable is only 5% per annum although the actual interest rate is 10% since SLBFE will pay the balance 5%. The only requirement is a Bank of Ceylon NRFC account with a minimum balance of US$ 250 maintained during six months prior to the application.

The "Bank of Ceylon is already offering numerous benefits to migrant workers.

Our NRFC account holders benefit from many schemes for loans and life insurance, preferential interest rates and speedy money transfers.

The BoC Sarani housing loan scheme will help lower income groups to start building a house just six months after they start working abroad," said Ms. Nelum Perera, Assistant General Manager (International) of Bank of Ceylon.

The "Bank of Ceylon is the clear market leader with a 35% market share in NRFC accounts and 65% market share in inward foreign remittances," she said.