"Our goal in expanding mortgage lending is to meet people's housing needs”

Recently, commercial banks have been working hard to formalize mortgage loans. In addition to loans provided by the Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund, commercial banks also provide affordable mortgage loans at their own expense. Kapital Bank, one of the largest banks in the country, has a larger portfolio and offers mortgage loans to its customers on favorable terms. For this purpose, we interviewed Ramil Imamov, General Director of Kapital Bank's Retail Sales Department, to learn about innovations in the field of mortgage lending.

- Mr. Ramil, Kapital Bank pays great attention to the issuance of mortgage loans recently. Please, let’s talk about innovations and statistics in this area.

- Kapital Bank always focuses on providing mortgage loans to meet the housing needs of citizens and help new homeowners. In this regard, the scope of mortgage lending, which is an integral part of retail lending in our bank, has recently been expanded. Thus, in order to meet the housing needs of the population, the volume of state-financed loans has been increased, as well as the bank has begun to issue loans at its own expense. If we look at the statistics, we can see that currently Kapital Bank's mortgage loan portfolio has increased to 200 million manat. One of the bank's future priorities is to maintain and increase its current portfolio.

- What types of mortgage loans are available at Kapital Bank?

- Kapital Bank took an active part in issuing ordinary and preferential mortgage loans for the current year at the expense of the Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund. Placement on loans issued by the Fund increased by 25% compared to the same period last year. In the future, it is planned to increase the volume of loans issued by our Bank to the Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund.

Kapital Bank is also actively involved in the state housing loan project provided by the State Agency for Housing Construction (MIDA). Last year, a loan of 3 million manat was issued for apartments provided under the MIDA project. Our loan portfolio for this type of mortgage is 6 million manat. According to the new projects submitted by MIDA during the current year, it is planned to provide housing loans and provide prompt consideration of citizens' applications. In this regard, on the official website of Kapital Bank (www.kapitalbank.az/loans), as well as in our branch network covering the whole country, there is a convenient opportunity to receive applications from citizens.

In addition to government projects, Kapital Bank offers two new types of mortgage products at its own expense to meet the growing housing needs of customers. Our goal in expanding mortgage lending is to meet people's housing needs.

- Does mortgage lending cover only Baku?

- In order to improve the living conditions and housing of the population in the regions, lending of social mortgage products on favorable terms in the regions began in May this year. This type of product is intended to benefit mainly young families from low-income and social groups. For more than a month, 22 citizens have already benefited from this product, the amount of loans issued to these people is 500,000 manat. It is planned to issue loans of about 10 million manat for this type of product, and applications are regularly received.

In parallel, our bank has launched the sale of new types of domestic mortgage loans in Baku, Absheron and Sumgayit. With the proposed product type, customers have the opportunity to benefit from mortgage loans of up to 500,000 manat for a period of 10 years. The good news for our customers is that we are currently offering a 3-month discount campaign on the relevant product. Thus, during the campaign, our customers can benefit from these loans with an annual interest rate starting from 10%. The current campaign will last until September 30, 2020. In addition, it is planned to cooperate with a number of Housing Cooperatives on this type of product. As a result, our Bank also supports businesses operating in the construction sector.

- What channels of Kapital Bank should apply those who want to take advantage of mortgage loans?

- In order to meet the growing demand for mortgage lending and to provide prompt service to customers, Kapital Bank has increased the number of mortgage service points, serving customers in 52 branches in the regions, 1 in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, 2 in Baku and 55 in total. It is planned to increase this number to meet additional needs that may arise in the future. Also, operative reception, analysis and response of customers' applications for mortgage lending, along with branches, various online channels - (+99451) 250 99 99 WhatsApp number, short number 8196, 196 Information Center, the bank's official website (www.kapitalbank.az/loans) is also carried out through.