STARTING today, the Home Mutual Development Fund (Pag-IBIG) will redice its rates for its end-user financing program.
In a memorandum issued by Pag-IBIG Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy last Feb. 6, interest rates of loans for one-year fixed term loans drop from 5.5 percent to 5.375 percent and three-year fixed-term loans from 6.5 to 6.375 percent.
Also, effective Feb. 18, member-borrowers of Pag-IBIG will enjoy paying lesser equity after the agency adjusted the loanable amount based on loan-to-appraisal value (LTV) ratio.
Member-borrowers who used to pay 10 percent equity of residential units valued at P1.7 million and below will now pay only five percent equity for those properties valued up to P1 million.
This means that Pag-IBIG will finance the remaining 95 percent.
Members will only shoulder 10 percent equity for those over P1 million up P1.7 million; and 15 percent equity for those priced up to P6 million.
Rio Teves, manager for Pag-IBIG Visayas-Business Development, yesterday said these adjustments will make owning houses financed through Pag-IBIG more affordable and encourage developers to become accredited partners of the agency.
To date, Pag-ibig Visayas has about 102 partner developers, of which 15 were accredited last year.
Teves said this will also raise the number of Pag-IBIG members who will avail themselves of housing loans.
“These adjustments will make us more competitive with the banks,” said Teves.
Pag-IBIG Visayas exceeded its home loan target last year by 22 percent. It released P9.337 billion in home loans versus its target of P7.628 billion.
Teves said the high home loan release can be attributed to developers high interest to partner with Pag-IBIG.
Pag-IBIG recorded its biggest home loan takeout and highest income last year.
Pag-IBIG released P65.1 billion in home loans in 2017, the highest housing loan takeout in its 37-year history.
The agency said this is the first time they breached the P60-billion mark and benefited about 80,964 Pag-IBIG members.
Last year, Pag-IBIG also recorded an all-time high gross income of P43.33 billion and a net income of P30.27 billion in net income in 2017, the highest net income it recorded and its first time to hit the P30-billion mark.