LIC Housing Finance Plans To Approve Rs 220 Crore In Kerala

Chennai/ Kochi: LIC Housing Finance (LICHF) intends to approve housing loans to the tune of Rs 220 crore in Kerala during the current fiscal. According to the source, the company has already sanctioned Rs 37.50 crore loans in the first quarter ending June 30, 2007. Last fiscal, LICHF sanctioned Rs 163 crore and disbursed Rs 154 crore. The company has five branches located at Kochi, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur in Kerala. The company would open its second overseas office in Kuwait shortly apart from the one at Dubai. LICHF has so far sanctioned loans to 850,000 customers through its 115 operating offices across the nation, he told the media.It had recently introduced a loan scheme, New Griha Lakshmi, against National Savings Certificates, life insurance policies and term deposits. Moreover, novel housing loan schemes for public sector companies to build staff quarters or offices and reverse mortgage scheme would soon be introduced. It has recently promoted a subsidiary, LICHFL Care Homes, for setting up Assisted Living Community Centres for senior citizens with an investment of Rs 25 crore. The centres will house self-contained residential units for senior citizens along with services like food and laundry. The first such centre has started at Bangalore and the second one will be launched at Bhubaneswar soon. Till June 2007, LIC Housing Finance provided loans based on land mortgages up to Rs 18,185 crore. The net profit as on June 30 was Rs 46.70 crore.