Pag-IBIG home loan payments up 12% to P38.5B
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2019 16:20:26 +0000
THE Home Development Mutual Fund’s (Pag-IBIG Fund) collection of its home loan payments rose to P38.56 billion in the first nine months of 2019, allowing its performing loans ratio (PLR) to “reach a record high.”
In a statement, Pag-IBIG said the amount was a 12-percent or P4.17-billion increase from that collected in the same period last year.
“The amount is also a record high in terms of home loan payments collected by the agency for any January-to-September period,” it added.
“Collections remain robust as we sustained our momentum from 2018, which is our best year yet. We still have another quarter to go before this year ends, but we are confident that 2019 will be another banner year because we continue to grow at a double-digit pace,” said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, who heads the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the 12-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.
“In the third quarter alone, home loan payments grew 20 percent year-on-year to P13.98 billion,” he added.
“Strong collections not only reinforce Pag-IBIG Fund’s financial sustainability, but also benefits our members because the amount we collect are then plowed back to our housing portfolio so that more members can avail [themselves] of affordable home loans from [the] Pag-IBIG Fund. This is our way of heeding President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s call to address the growing housing needs of Filipino workers.”
According to Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti, thanks to improvements in its collection efficiency, the agency was able to reach a record-high PLR.
As of September, the ratio reached 91.03 percent, compared with 75 percent in 2012. As a result of several reforms implemented, the agency improved its portfolio until it reached 90 percent for the first time in 2017. Its PLR further improved to 90.23 percent by the end of 2018.
“We are happy to report that our efforts to maintain efficiency of collections enabled us to keep our performing loans ratio at above 90 percent. The high PLR shows that nine out of 10 of Pag-IBIG Fund’s home loan borrowers regularly pay their monthly amortizations, which is a vast improvement compared to previous years,” Moti said.
“We take pride in having a single-digit non-performing loans ratio, considering that our portfolio is unique, as we cater to minimum-wage earners who are usually unserved by most lending institutions because of their financial capacity,” he said.
“Achieving the highest PLR is a notable feat for us.This is the result of both the reforms we have put in place and the growing appreciation of the Fund’s home loan programs among our borrowers. We appreciate our borrowers who regularly pay their monthly amortizations because they help us provide accessible and sustainable home financing to other members who need it too.”