March 2, 2002	Saturday	Zilhaj 17, 1422

ISLAMABAD, March 1: House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) will disburse Rs2 billion during 2002.

This was disclosed in a presentation to Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on restructuring of HBFC here on Friday.

Since its inception HBFC has disbursed over Rs31 billion and financed around 416,000 houses and has investment portfolio of Rs20 billion.

Last year, HBFC disbursed Rs1.5 billion and recoveries were over Rs2.5 billion.

The finance minister said that HBFC should focus on transparent disbursement of loans, remodel its collection system, raise its profile and image, increase disbursement and adapt to the changing culture through induction of an invigorated professional team.

He noted the slow process of loan recovery and asked managing director of the corporation to accelerate the process of recovery. He also asked the management to strictly apply the prudential regulations, engage in product designing, product marketing, image building and introduce a flawless system of risk management.

The minister observed that HBFC being the leading institution in providing loans for construction/purchase of houses should introduce financing of low cost housing packages in collaboration with the private sector.

To improve the corporate profile of HBFC, the meeting considered possibilities of corporatization of the institution.

It was noted with satisfaction that HBFC is a Shariah complaint organization.

He observed that the government wants to see HBFC as a vibrant, professional institution, which should be the catalyst for housing finance sector. Private sector entities will also be encouraged to come into housing finance and that the existing dormant units be revitalized.

He approved constitution of a new board of directors for HBFC so as to give the institution professional input and direction. The new board includes members from the government and the private sector and branches.