HDFC raises Rs 8,700 cr as ‘social loan’ to finance affordable housing segment

Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd on Friday said it has raised USD 1.1 billion (around Rs 8,700 crore) from a clutch of investors under ‘Syndicated Social Loan Facility’ to cater to the affordable housing segment in the country.

The country’s largest mortgage lender by asset size said it has raised the amount by way of external commercial borrowings (ECBs). “This landmark financing further promotes HDFC’s longstanding mission to be the leading provider of housing finance in India. Proceeds from the social loan would go towards financing affordable housing loans,” the company said in a release. MUFG Bank Ltd (MUFG) is the lead social loan coordinator for this transaction along with being one of the Mandated Lead Arranger and Borrowers (MLAB), it said.

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CTBC Bank, Mizuho Bank, State Bank of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation are the other MLABs and joint social loan coordinators. This is India’s largest social financing issuance, the largest social loan globally, the first social ECB loan out of India and the largest ECB loan deal from a Housing Finance Company/private NBFC in India, HDFC said. External Commercial Borrowings are instruments used by domestic entities to raise capital from overseas markets in Indian rupee or any other permitted foreign currency.

Since its inception in 1977, the largest mortgage lender by asset size in the country has financed 95 lakh housing units and has a gross loan book of Rs 6.7 lakh crore. “Affordable housing is a critical component of quality infrastructure as also a growth driver for the real estate industry and the economy at large given its strong linkages to nearly 300 industries. It contributes to capital formation, employment, and income opportunities,” Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Ltd, said on the borrowing programme.

He said a boost to affordable housing will play a significant role towards the ‘Housing for All’ objective of the government. “The aspiration to own a home is inherent in every household. In India, housing will play an important role as a catalyst for growth with increased demand for affordable housing, Parekh said further. HDFC terms the social loan as a ‘landmark financing’ which promotes the company’s longstanding mission to be the leading provider of housing finance in India.

Loans by the company have assisted over 314,000 beneficiaries, mostly in affordable housing, under the CLSS (credit-linked subsidy schemes) of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the highest by any financial institution in India, as per HDFC.