LICHFL targets Rs 560 cr housing loan in east in 09-10

LIC Housing Finance Limited, a subsidiary of the public sector, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)is targetting to provide Rs 560 crore home loan in the eastern region, consisting of east and north east states, during the current financial year.

The target is Rs 160 crore more than the loan disbursement of Rs 400 crore achieved in 2008-09. The total loan portfolio of the company in the region reached Rs 1583 crore by the end of March, 2009 across 37,820 accounts, said AK Mahato, the regional manager of the LICHFL. In order to achieve the target, the company has opened two more Business Centers in the region. They are located at Berhampur and Cuttack in Orissa. With this, total number of Business Centers of the company in the state has increased to four. The company has 15 Business Centers in the entire eastern region.

The new office in Berhampur would cater to the needs of the customers of southern Orissa districts including Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Kalahnadi and Kandhamal. Claiming the LICHFL is the second largest housing loan finance company in the country, the Mahato said, it has 126 marketing units across the country with 934 direct selling agents (DSA), 4865 home loan agents (HLAs) and 485 customer relationship associates (CRAs).

The company is providing loans for homes, construction activities and corporate housing schemes. It also gives loans against rental income, property and to builders and corporates at nominal interest rate.

In order to reduce the time frame for loan sanction, the company has introduced the Advance Approval of the Projects (AAP) and a special scheme under Corporate Employees Housing Loan (CEHL) for faster loan appraisal and quick disbursal, he said. The company is listed on the NSE and BSE in the country and Luxembourg Stock Exchange in the Netherlands.

Its profit after tax surged 38.71 percent from Rs 387.19 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 531.62 crore in 2008-09. The company sanctioned Rs 10898 crore loan nationally last year, representing 26 per cent growth over Rs 8617.88 crore achieved in the previous year. Disbursement grew by 24 percent from Rs 7071.48 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 8762 crore in 2008-09. Besides housing finance, the company also collects fixed deposits under the Public Deposit Scheme (PDS).