SEWA Bank to float arm for home loans

The new company will focus on women who are unable to get loans from nationalised banks due to their weak financial status.

"We will offer housing loans to our members who have a good track record and are unable to get loans from other banks. Most women associated with SEWA come from economically backward class and work in the unorganised sector," said a SEWA office bearer.

According to Jayshree Vyas, managing director, SEWA Bank, there is a huge demand for loan rangining between Rs. 1 lakh to 15 lakh from our members, who want to have their own house.

"We have decided to tap the segment and set up a new company," she said.

At present, SEWA Bank gives loans for home and house repairs with a ceiling of Rs. 50,000. "We can not extend housing loans above the limit due to banking regulations. Presently, we are flooded with inquiries for housing loans. As we want to start giving full-fledged housing loan services to our member women, we decided to form a company, which will handle the housing loan activities. The project is at a planning stage and things will be finalised within the next six months," said an official of SEWA bank.

In the financial year 2007-08, the bank gave house repair loans to the tune of Rs. 6,08,49,600 to around 2,645 SEWA Bank members and home loans worth Rs. 1,33,49,999 to over 525 members as housing loan. As of now, SEWA bank has over 1,75,000 depositors.

Recently, State Bank of India (SBI) roped in SEWA Gram Mahila Haat (SGMH), a marketing organisation for rural produce promoted by SEWA, as a business facilitator (BF) entity to provide financial services to the underprivileged encompassing saving, credit, remittance, insurance and pension products in a cost effective manner in the untapped areas of Gujarat.

As per the MOU, SGMH will work as a BF and the bank to give 0.5 per cent commission to SGMH on the saving, credit etc. and it will provide crop credits at mere seven per cent per annum to the underprivileged section in the rural areas.