OHB approves 630 loans worth RO 26.8m

Muscat: Oman Housing Bank (OHB) revealed that, the total number of approved loans, which are supported by the government, during the first half of 2019 reached 630 loans, worth more than RO 26.8 million. Adnan Haider Darwish, General Manager of Oman Housing Bank (OHB), assured that the bank continues to play its leading role in the development of the housing sector in the Sultanate. He also pointed out that OHB focuses on enhancing its efforts at the current stage to reduce the borrower’s waiting period for his/her role through finding suitable solutions. In order to achieve this, the bank recently signed an agreement with “Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development' worth RO 75.6 million, as well as a joint cooperation agreement with the National Bank of Oman (NBO) in the field of providing finance to citizens wishing to buy or build a house, through “Home” programme for housing finance. The borrowers can obtain the loan directly without waiting until their turn comes according to the system of OHB, and it will repay the loan balance to the commercial bank. In a breakdown of the loans approved during the first half of this year, according to the banking and administrative fees on the loan; the bank indicated that the total loans with 1 per cent banking and administrative fees reached 92 loans worth RO 3.4 million, while loans category with a banking and administrative fees with 2 per cent, received the largest percentage of the approved loans values reached to 415 loans worth RO 17.4 million. Whereas, the total loans with 3 per cent banking and administrative fees reached 89 loans worth RO 4.3 million, and total loans with 4 per cent banking and administrative fees reached 34 loans with a total value exceeding RO 1.76 million. As for the breakdown of loans approved in the first half of this year by branches, the bank explained that the head office branch approved 87 loans worth RO 3.77 million, while Salalah branch approved 18 loans worth RO 878,000, and Suhar branch approved 92 Loans worth RO 3.5 million, whereas Sur branch approved 67 loans worth RO 2.9 million, and Nizwa branch approved 107 loans worth more than RO 4.7 million. While Khasab branch approved 17 loans worth RO 871,000, and Al Buraimi branch approved 35 loans worth RO 1.57 million. For Al Rustaq branch, it approved 171 loans worth more than RO 7 million, and finally Ibra branch approved 36 loans worth a total of more than RO 1.5 million. It is noteworthy that OHB is continuously working on finding appropriate solutions to reduce the waiting period for loan applicants to obtain financing and also providing banking facilities to national customers according to an appropriate time frame that helps them achieving the dream of owning a suitable home. The maximum housing loan offered by OHB is RO 60,000, and the repayment period is up to 25 years at a competitive rate of banking and administrative fees, which is considered the best in the local market. OHB was established in 1977 with the aim of supporting the housing and reconstruction movement to achieve economic development in the Sultanate through several ways, including providing loans and banking facilities to individuals, which helps them to own their own houses, and also carrying out housing projects for low and middle income or financing them. Also another way is establishing real estate projects through construction or finance of residential buildings in the Sultanate. OHB currently has nine branches spread across the Sultanate's governorates. --ONA