A concessional credit line provided to banks in order to facilitate access to housing for people in the lowest income bracket.
Context

Social housing, as defined by the South African authorities, corresponds to pure rental programs for people with incomes between R 1,500 and R 7,500 per month and managed by private social housing institutions or associations. Accessible housing programs concern a segment of the population with incomes between R 2,500 and R 3,000, often aimed at home ownership. Banks such as Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) have come up with innovative arrangements to respond to the needs of the latter segment.

Description

The project consists in granting a 10-year credit line of EUR 40 million to the South African banking group FIRSTRAND, which is committed through its RMB division, to finance accessible housing. The credit line will help solve a problem associated with low-income homeloans – that of deserving homeloan applicants whose creditworthiness, while good, is just shy of acceptable norms. RMB will use the loan money to create a “top-up” fund which can be used to give financial assistance to such people, making them eligible for home loans they otherwise would not qualify for.

Impacts
  • Construction of affordable housing in Cosmo City, Glenridge and Umhlatuze, suitable for households with a monthly income between R2,500 and R7,500;
  • Loans provided to 2,261 households with a monthly income below R5,300.
01/01/2006
Project start date
01/01/2009
Project end date
10 years
Duration of funding
Afrique du Sud
Location
40 000 000
EUR
Amount of the program
Achevé
Status
Rand Merchant Bank (RMB)
Beneficiaries