In a sharpest prick to the inflated real estate sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday asked banks to closely link the disbursal of home loans to stages of construction and desist from upfront disbursal of sanctioned individual housing loans to builders. In the notification, the RBI has asked banks to link the disbursal of home loans to stages of construction to protect the interests of buyers and contain the fallout of 'innovative' housing financing schemes, popularly known as 80:20 and 75:25 schemes.
Providing such loans help a bank as these schemes are classified as mortgage and not construction finance, which is considered a risky business by the RBI and requires higher provisioning. Further, the builders also stand to gain from these schemes as home loans are far cheaper than construction loans.
Nevertheless, these home loan products are likely to expose banks and their borrowers to additional risks, including disputes between borrowers and builders; default and delayed payment of interest/EMI by the builder on behalf of the borrower, and non-completion of the project on time.
However, RBI’s diktat, which will put further pressure on the real estate prices that are already on a downward spiral, in effect should be good for consumer as the decision will force developers and banks to be more transparent in explaining the benefits of the scheme to buyers. It will force developers to give a prospective buyer a discount upfront instead of spreading it across 2 to 3 years as in the 80:20 schemes. Further, RBI has emphasized that the banks, while introducing any kind of product should take into account customer suitability and appropriateness and ensure that borrowers and customers are made fully aware of the risks and liabilities.
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