Promoting Access and Affordability in Asia s Housing Finance Markets IFC s Experience

Transcription

1 Promoting Access and Affordability in Asia s Housing Finance Markets IFC s Experience Rachel Freeman IFC Financial Institutions Group Hong Kong September 3, 2015

2 Housing challenge in Asia Growing populations, rising urbanization and increasing incomes are driving demand for housing, but inappropriate response by regulators Middle class is rising from 525m to 3.2 billion in Asia Pacific by 2030* Urban population to increase by 1.4 billion and continent to have the highest number of megacities (> 10m)** Asia s increased exposure to changing weather patterns require solutions to build housing with less resource consumption Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore exposed to rising sea levels Nepal, India exposure to landslides, flooding Higher levels of pollution decrease quality of life in cities *FT ** UN

3 Why is IFC active in housing finance in Asia? creating better and safer housing opportunities Job creation Shelter Small business development Health Education Social cohesion and welfare Social Security

4 How does IFC intervene in housing finance? Establishment of a platform for combined offerings of investment and advisory services Investment Advisory Services Partnerships Debt Strategy & business model Equity Structured finance Credit & Risk Management Products, Services, & Marketing

5 IFC high impact through housing finance IFC has invested over $ 3 billon in housing finance in over 46 countries, creating impressive reach: Our clients and partners provide annually > 800,000 loans Our clients had $ 21 billion outstanding in housing credits (end 2013) IFC innovations in housing finance include: Pioneering important capital markets transactions: Colombia, Mexico, Korea, South Africa, UAE, Brazil, Argentina, Panama Housing microfinance: Egypt, India, Afghanistan, Haiti, Indonesia Green housing leader in India, South Africa, Eastern Europe Best practices standard setter with Global Mortgage Toolkit, Housing Microfinance Toolkit in >15 countries

6 Example Afghanistan despite challenging environment, a lender managed to enter housing finance market Incentives Considerable demand for housing arising from increasing urbanization and a growing and young population Somewhat stabilized and growing economy Significant potential demand for home improvement, incremental construction and upgrading of existing homes Better understanding of financial needs of low income earners at MFIs Obstacles Weak legal and regulatory framework (especially in the area of land administration and registration and enforcement of liens) High cost of construction material; limited capacities in the construction industries Continued violence and insecurity in certain areas of the country Lack of longer-term funds in local currency 6

7 Which market entry strategy did First Microfinance Bank of Afghanistan (FMBF-A) select? Source: Roy

8 IFC s support to FMFB-A s success In co-operation with FMFB-A, IFC developed: Design and roll out of housing microfinance loan products (first housing loan product in the country) Support to development of technical construction assistance packages Development of lending and servicing standards using IFC s Housing Microfinance Toolkit Training of loan officers on new product design and creditworthiness assessment methodologies Support to market entry strategy and marketing strategy as well as business plan design

9 IFC s Housing Microfinance (HMF) Toolkit Toolkit = guide for product development and operations Describes recommended HMF products and parameters, operational procedures, and set of tools and techniques for market surveys Includes guidance on shariah-compliant HMF products Based on international best practices and on-theground feedback Two parts: Product development Loan processing (from loan application to delinquency management)

10 Product features of FMFB-A s housing loan product Loan Amount: $200 - $4000 Loan Duration: 6 to 24 Months Interest Rate: 2.08% per month, declining Product Eligibility: Businessman/women employees Collateral: Personal guarantor Household assets Title deed Facilities Construction Advisory Seasonal Repayment Facility for Rural Clients

11 Results achieved since market entry in 2009 Over 26,000 loans disbursed valuing over USD 45 million at PAR below 2% having 18% females Source: FMBA 11 Housing loan portfolio accounts for about 16% of total lending activities (at present:$76m)

12 Example India: Aadhar Housing Finance Company Source: Aadhar Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd. is specialized housing finance lender Focus on customers with low salaries Focus on business development in poorer states of India

13 IFC s contribution to Aadhar s success IFC equity of investment of $ 4.5m in IFC s Advisory Services provided support To identify the target customers To define the product design To help implement appropriate risk management and corporate governance structure Support development of comprehensive responsible finance framework

14 Aadhar achievements Focus on low income groups: Aadhar s customers earn between $80 to $400 per month Serving demand: Aadhar has a loan book of $ 158m and serves about 18,000 customers. It operates in 9 states with 250 outlets Sustainable and profitable operations

15 Example India: Equitas Housing Finance The overall objective of this project was to support the start up Equitas Housing Finance Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equitas Microfinance India Pvt. Ltd. (Equitas MFI) in launching its low-income housing finance operations Product Development Developed two-pronged product design strategy focusing on leveraging MF customer base (1.8 mn at the time) of holding company (Equitas) and targeting non-mf open market customers (higher ticket size loans) By using holding company s MF branches to cross-sell housing loans, the project was able to target a wide range of customers, and demonstrate efficiencies in business operations Impact Developed 4 loans products meeting varied housing finance needs at BoP Self Construction, Home Improvement & LAP (Loan Against Property) Portfolio growth from $ 1.36mn to $ 27 mn in 3 yrs (~1900%) Capacity Building Equitas participated in the NHB-IFC Housing Microfinance Consultative Workshop - focused on enabling new FIs to enter the low-income housing finance space. Post the event, IFC conducted subsequent, individual strategic sessions with the Equitas HF team on - Product Development, Legal/Regulatory requirements, and Construction and Technical Assistance Capacity building focused on leveraging strengths of holding company s experience in MF and building new channels to target non-mf customers; while minimizing risks through focus on strengthening credit appraisal systems, integrating credit bureau checks and instituting risk management checks and balances Impact Expanded stand-alone HF operations to 13 branches across 4 states of India, reaching out to 2,728 housing clients Business efficiencies - Operations Expense/Avg loan assets reduced % to 5.95% (one of the lowest in the industry) Good portfolio quality 2% Loan o/s per staff increased by 145% (from $103.3k to $ 253.7k) Sectoral Impact This project successfully demonstrated how an MFI can take the next step in its evolution and branch out to offering higher-ticket low-income housing finance

16 IFC s Housing Microfinance Project in Indonesia context Growing urban population and increasing population size indicate rising demand for housing loans Low income groups (<$700) struggle to obtain housing loan House financing depends on own savings or informal financial service providers Houses are generally built incrementally Self-construction prevails, low quality Strong interest from cement manufacturers (Holcim/Lafarge) to support low income housing

17 Lessons learnt Potential vs effective demand What are customer s needs, preferences and capacities? Financing Housing What type of construction technical assistance and at what cost? How to create link between hardware store and lender? Who offers advisory services to client?

18 Conclusions Two main trends in Asia: Rising population and increasing urbanization Drive for green housing solutions Outlook for investments in residential real estate markets in Emerging Asia is promising But risks need to be carefully managed (i.e. credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, etc.) Design of right market entry strategy is key: With the right product and the right strategy, sustainable growth can be achieved

19 Rachel Freeman Manager Financial Institutions Group Advisory Services International Finance Corporation Hong Kong