Banque de l’Habitat (BDH) began accepting applications for housing loans at the beginning of June. According to initial figures, BDH had received 23,483 applications by July 22. Of these, 5,200 applications have been filled, and 2,515 people have completed the required electronic procedures before moving on to the second phase.
BDH plans to process 23,483 applications progressively, notifying applicants of any gaps in their files. Eligible applicants will be contacted to visit one of the bank’s branches to present the identification documents previously included in their file. The bank will also do its part in verifying documents and obtaining personal information from the Ministry of Finance and the Banque du Liban, to ensure that the borrower has not previously benefited from any housing loan and does not own a house on Lebanese territory.
In an interview with the MTV television channel, BDH President Antoine Habib indicated that the 2,515 applications were broken down as follows: ”2,098 purchases, 231 constructions and 186 renovations”, specifying that the construction loan is repaid over 18 years and the renovation loan over 10 years.
The financing agreement signed by BDH with the Arab Fund extends over 5 years and amounts to 50 million Kuwaiti dinars ($164 million). Banque du Liban will act as the intermediary to transfer the amount to an account to be opened by BDH at the Arab Bank in Geneva. Transfers to and from this account will be made by the borrowers. Habib explained that the reason for adopting this mechanism relates to what happened after the collapse of the Lebanese pound. At that time, loans that had been taken out in dollars were repaid in Lebanese pounds.
Habib also revealed that his institution is in talks with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. The aim is to obtain another loan, which will increase individual loans from $50,000 to $100,000. He announced that “the bank will work successively to obtain loans from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, because this will have a positive impact on Lebanese youth, the economy and the real estate sector”.
