ICICI Bank has come out with a mortgage guarantee-backed home loan, which the bank says will allow home loan consumers to increase borrowing by 5% to 20% and the tenure up to 67 years of age. Normally, banks do not allow home loan tenures beyond 60 years of age. The bank has launched these loans, called ‘ICICI Bank Extraa Home Loans’, in association with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC), a joint venture between National Housing Bank, Genworth Financial, International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO of the bank, said the bank foresees that a young population and rapid urbanization will lead to the emergence of enormous demand for affordable housing in tier II and tier III cities and this initiative of the bank will catalyse the growth of the Indian mortgage market by giving consumers improved affordability without any incremental risks for lenders. Amitava Mehra, CEO, IMGC, said IMGC’s endeavour is to work with lenders to provide mortgage guarantee cover and promote early home ownership. The loan product will initially be available at the bank’s branches in Greater Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru and Surat. Subsequently, it will be rolled out across the other cities in the country. The salaried as well as self-employed individuals seeking home loans of a maximum amount of Rs 75 lakh are eligible for this loan on payment of a fee. Possibly, based on the customer’s, income and other eligibility criteria there could be a difference in the amount the customer needs to borrow and the amount sanctioned by the bank. ICICI Bank Extraa Home Loan can help in meeting the shortfall for a fee. The bank is targeting the middle-aged salary customer, the first-time home loan borrower and the self-employed customer with this product.
