 Chennai:
Sundaram Home Finance, the city-based home finance company,
has finally decided to avail of refinance facilities from
National Housing Bank (NHB). The company will be signing
an agreement to this effect with NHB.
The
company is a three-way joint venture between Sundaram
Finance (holding a 65-per cent stake), IFC (20 per cent)
and FMO Netherlands (15 per cent).
Says
Sundaram Home Finance managing director Nitin Palany:
"Earlier NHB's interest rates were high. Now the
rate has come down to 6.9 per cent, variable, still leaving
us a margin of 2 per cent. Further, the loan period is
15 years."
The
company will raise around Rs 100 crore from NHB. According
to Palany, the company's loan portfolio stands at Rs 350
crore as on 31 March 2003.
Focused
on the retail and individual segment, Sundaram Home Finance
has a cumulative loan disbursal of Rs 450 crore. During
fiscal 2002-03 the disbursements were Rs 237 crore while
approvals totalled Rs 356 crore.
This
has resulted in its income going up to Rs 40.83 crore
from Rs 22.25 crore earned during 2001-02. Similarly,
the after tax profit more than doubled to Rs 4.47 crore
last fiscal compared to Rs 2.05 crore during 2001-02.
For
the current fiscal the company hopes to disburse Rs 650
crore. "We target the southern market where the potential
is good," says Palany.
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