Mortgage finance coming alive

Lets face it; the banks in the country have been averse to lending to retail segment while opting for the cushy path of lending risk-free to the government. However, now that interest rates are down and banking spreads are squeezed, the banks are being forced out of their slumber.In conversation with BR Research at the time of the compilation of the Banking Review 2014, various bank heads had indicated a renewed focus on private sector lending. Since then, the past few months have begun to make clear; the plays that different banks intend to make in private lending.Auto finance, credit cards, trade finance and personal loans are all set to register up ticks. However one area that has historically received little attention from the banks appears set to swell in coming months. And that's mortgage finance.In the past, bankers have listed a plethora of hurdles to the growth of mortgage finance. From the enforcement of property titles to the legal jungle around repossessions, the PBA has been lobbying to no avail. Yet the lower interest rate scenario is driving some banks to foray in the market, albeit only in locales where these issues are relatively less aggravating.In a recent interaction with BR Research, SCBPL head of retail banking Shezad Arif informed of the bank's intent to launch a new mortgage finance product which offers a fixed rate for the first three years. SCBPL manages salary accounts for a vast number of companies including many MNCs and large domestic corporations. The bank aims to focus the mortgage product towards such clients.Head of Segments Faheem Elahi asserts that the bank currently holds a 6.2% market share in mortgage finance and is eager to increase this portion. There is an undeniable void in the country when it comes to housing and the difference between rental yields and mortgage rates has kept even those with handsome salaries, unable to become home owners.Many other banks are also stepping up mortgage financing and lower rates are all the more alluring for prospective home owners. Yet those with the context of history in the sector warn that a gung-ho approach to lending is recipe for an imminent bubble. Little wonder then that banks such as SCBPL are focused on lending against properties in selected areas and to those individuals whose banking relations run deep.