Pag-IBIG Fund reported double-digit growth in its housing loan payment collections in the first half of the year.
Data showed that from January to June 2019, home loan payments reached P30.44 billion, an increase of 12 percent from P27.22 billion collected in the same period last year.
“We were able to sustain our momentum from 2018, which is our best year yet. In the first half of 2019, home loan payments averaged P5.07 billion per month which is considerably higher than the P4.53 billion average last year,” said Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who heads both the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees.
“We were off to a good start in 2019 because while we experienced slumps in the start of previous years, home loan payments in January amounted to P5.40 billion. And just this May, home loan payments totaled 5.99 billion– the highest so far this year. Robust collections reinforce Pag-IBIG Fund’s financial sustainability. The amount we collected is then plowed back to our housing portfolio so that more members can avail of a home loan from Pag-IBIG Fund. This is our way of heeding President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s call to address the growing housing needs of Filipino workers,” said del Rosario.
Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Acmad Rizaldy Moti said that because of the improvements in its collection efficiency, the agency was able to reach record high performing loans ratio or PLR.
Performing loans ratio stood at 90.60 percent as of June”•the highest in the history of the Fund. In 2012, the Fund’s PLR stood at a low 75 percent. The Fund improved its portfolio over the years until it reached 90 percent for the first time in 2017.
The PLR further improved to 90.23 percent in 2018 and reached a record high in the first half of 2019.
“Our portfolio is unique in the sense that we cater to minimum wage earners who are usually unserved by most lending institutions because of their financial situation. Despite this, we are happy to report that our efforts to maintain the efficiency of collections enabled us to keep our performing loans ratio at above 90 percent.” Moti said.
“The high PLR shows that nine out of 10 of Pag-IBIG Fund’s home loan borrowers regularly pay their monthly amortizations, which is a vast improvement compared to previous years. This is the result of both the reforms we have put in place and the growing appreciation of the Fund’s home loan programs among borrowers. The regular payment of monthly amortizations is key in the Fund’s mission to provide both accessible and sustainable home financing to members who need it most,” Moti said.