IFC to invest $75 mn in L&T Housing Finance for affordable housing by 2022

As of September 2017, L&T Housing held $1.6 billion in assets

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to invest upto $75 million in L&T Housing Finance Company (L&TH).

This potential investment is part of a multi-pronged engagement that IFC has with L&T Group in multiple areas of interest. The investment is aimed at supporting the developmental needs of India, said the World Bank’s investment arm.

According to IFC, the proposed investment to L&TH will help increase access to affordable housing by supporting the financing need of developers engaged in the affordable housing segment.

Earmarked for on-lending to affordable housing segment, the IFC debt would come with a longer tenure to match the duration of such loans and thereby, ensuring requisite ALM management.

The proceeds will be used to finance developers engaged in promoting affordable housing according to the criteria specified in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, scheme of the Government of India that aims for “Housing for All” by 2022.

L&TH is a housing finance company registered under the National Housing Bank. The Company serves the housing and real estate finance segments. As of September 2017, the company held $1.6 billion in assets. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings Limited (L&TF), the financial services arm of Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T). L&TF services about 12 million customers with pan-India presence. It reports an asset base of over $10 billion. 

LTF’s largest shareholder is Larsen and Toubro Limited which is a major global technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate. L&TF, through its operating companies, is engaged in rural, housing and wholesale and infrastructure finance as well as investment and wealth management.