Home loan portfolio set to cross Rs 10 lakh cr milestone this quarter, says SBI Chairman
Highlighting the leadership position of SBI in the housing finance segment, its Chairman CS Setty said the mortgage portfolio is set to cross an important milestone of Rs 10 lakh crore in the current quarter on the back of robust demand.
The country’s largest lender had surpassed Rs 9 lakh crore home loan portfolio during the last financial year.
“We should be reaching the 10 trillion mark, hopefully in this quarter itself,” Setty told PTI in an interview.
SBI has a market share of nearly 28 per cent in the home loan segment, he said, adding that the bank has focused on making home loans accessible across the country. The lender has more than 460 home loan processing centres across India, increasing accessibility of its housing finance products.
Setty said transparency in pricing and customer trust in the bank’s processes, including documentation and due diligence of builders, are among the key factors driving customers to the lender for home loans.
“People trust SBI the most when it comes to taking a home loan... that paperwork is properly done, including the due diligence on the builder,” he said. He also emphasised that home loans should not be viewed merely as a standalone banking product, given their wider contribution to economic activity and multiplier effect on many allied industries.
“Home loan as a segment is very important for the economy,” he said, noting that more than 200 industries depend on commercial and residential real estate.
“In a way, home loan should not be seen as a standalone product. It is to be seen as an integral part of India’s economic growth,” he said. About securitisation of home loans, Setty said the outstanding pool at the industry level is more than Rs 30 lakh crore, but the assets remain relatively illiquid, limiting banks’ ability to recycle capital and expand lending.
Globally, he said, the mortgage book is more liquid, while in India, it is mostly illiquid, with a few securitisation here and there happening but not in a big way.
“We are also looking at how we can bring securitisation structures into the market. However, for these structures to work effectively, there has to be adequate participation from the non-bank sector. We are, therefore, consciously working to develop and enable such structures, with the objective of strengthening funding capabilities and deepening the overall ecosystem,” he said.
“We are working with the investors with regard to the structure and tenure of paper. We are working out the nitty-gritty. This year, we are keen to do one transaction in the space,” he said.
This would help the bank further expand its lending capacity, he added.
As RBI’s concessional swap window draws to a close this month-end, Setty expressed confidence that the bank would garner about USD 10 billion from non-resident Indians and foreign investors.
Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India advanced the closure of the Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank (FCNR-B) deposits swap window by a month to August 31 from the earlier cut-off date of September 30.
However, the special US Dollar-Rupee forex swap window to give cheap currency hedging support to public sector undertakings (PSUs) raising External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) is available till December 31, 2026. - PTI.
