National Housing Bank (NHB) is planning to raise Rs 11,000 crore this fiscal to meet loan demands, said chairman and managing director S Sridhar at a banking conclave organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
?We will raise Rs 3,000 crore through zero-coupon bonds and Rs 1,000 crore through retail deposits. We have the approvals for zero-coupon bonds,? Sridhar said.
The housing finance regulator raised Rs 13,200 crore in 2006-07 and Rs 10,000 crore in 2007-08. ?The amount to be raised depends on our growth and the return-flow of the funds,? he said.
NHB is planning to form a mortgage guarantee firm in three-four months (provided it gets the RBI?s go-ahead). The firm will be a joint venture between the regulator and United Guarantee Corp of the US . Other equity partners will be International Finance Corp (IFC) and Asian Development Bank.
?It will take about three-four months to launch the company,? Sridhar said.
A senior official said NHB will have less than 50% share in the non-banking financial corporation, but it will still be its single largest stakeholder. ?We want to keep it in the private sector,? he said.
According to sources, NHB is likely to have a 43% share in the company, United Guarantee 41%, and the rest held by IFC and ADB.
?We have already short-listed our partners,? said Sridhar.
?The company will stand guarantee for home loans taken by borrowers and the bank will have zero loss in case of a default,? he said.
?With banks coming under Basel II, the amount of capital they have to keep becomes very critical,? Sridhar said.