"We are awaiting approval of our proposal from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA)," HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh told reporters, after inaugurating the company's new office at Jayanagar in Bangalore on Monday.

HDFC, Parekh said, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Standard Life Assurance Company, Europe's largest mutual life company. The MoU was renewed last year.

He said HDFC's entry into the high growth area of mutual funds, to offer a wide spectrum of savings products, was also on the anvil.

The HDFC chairman said in over two decades of its operations, HDFC's cumulative loan approvals, as at December 1999, crossed Rs 22,517 crore and disbursements Rs 18,612 crore, helping finance over 1.5 million units nationwide.

As of December 31, 1999, loan approvals were Rs 3,608 crore compared to Rs 2,844 crore in the corresponding period in previous year, registering a 27 per cent growth.

Loan disbursements during this period were Rs. 2,955 crore against Rs. 2,274 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year representing a growth of 30 per cent , he said.

HDFC's deposit base had crossed Rs 5,900 crore as on December 31, 1999 from over one million depositors and over 46,000 deposits agents, he added.Parekh said HDFC was also planning to launch a "Real Estate Mutual Fund".According to Parekh, HDFC has reduced its interest rates (under its fixed rate) on housing loans to 13.25 per cent per annum, irrespective of the loan amount, effective March 8, 2000.

It had also reduced its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) to 12.75 per cent per annum under Adjustable Rate Housing Loan (ARHL) and had increased the term from 15 years to 20 years.

The maximum loan amount had been increased to Rs one crore, he said.