SBI eyes 50% growth in home loans

State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s biggest lender, eyes 50 per cent growth in home loans in 2012-13. The bank had lent Rs 2,214.30 crore in this segment in the previous fiscal in the Odisha circle, riding mainly on the boom in the realty market in the city that has not seen any slump despite sagging property sales in metros.

“We want to grow at 50 per cent over last fiscal. In Bhubaneswar, the housing market is still doing very well compared to other cities that have seen a slowdown. Home loans are currently contributing 15 per cent to our total loan portfolio,” said Praveen Gupta, chief general manager of SBI's Odisha circle.

“We have a dedicated home loan sales team and our loan rates are the lowest and the most attractive in the market,” he added.

The home loan size for Bhubaneswar and peripheral regions alone stood at Rs 716.73 crore which marks 32.36 per cent of SBI's total home loans for the circle.

On a pan-India basis, Gupta said, SBI’s home loan portfolio has exceeded Rs one lakh crore and the PSU bank has already pipped HDFC Ltd as the largest home loan lender.

Till March 2012, SBI has approved 41 residential projects in Odisha and in the current fiscal, it has approved four more projects with affordable homes in the price bracket of Rs 12-17.5 lakh.

To showcase all its approved residential projects, SBI is holding a ‘Property Expo’ in the city from May 18-20. The expo is set to be attended by 30 builders, of which, 27 have already confirmed their participation. Besides seminars and interactions, the expo will offer a one-stop solution for customers in terms of bank finance, life coverage, general insurance, financial planning as well as non-financial solutions such as legal advice and vastu consultation. SBI will offer on-the-spot sanctions to home loan applicants at the expo.