Here is a brief profile of the National Housing
Bank India
National Housing Bank Profile
The National Housing Bank (NHB), the apex level financial institution for the housing sector in the country, was established on July 9, 1988 under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. The NHB works as a facilitator in promoting Housing Finance Institutions and providing financial and other support to such institutions. Headquatered in Delhi, the organization has its office in all the major cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. With trained professionals and proficient experts working at different levels, NHB is dedicated in quest of excellence through modernism, doer work culture and contemporary work practices assisted by technology intervention.
NHB has 9 departments, including NHB RESIDEX Cell, Regulation & Supervision, Refinancing Operations, Direct Finance Operations, Enabling Processes, Information Technology, Resource Mobilization and Management, Development and Risk Management and Board and CMD Secretariat. As per its mission to promote an effective and cost effective housing finance system in the country, the NHB frames guidelines for housing finance institutions to ensure their growth on sound lines. The NHB provides loans and financial assistance to scheduled banks and housing finance institutions or to any authority established by or under any Central, State or Provincial Act.
Being the chief regulatory body, NHB regulates the activities of housing finance companies based on regulatory and supervisory authority derived under the NHB Act. As per the amendments to certain provisions of the Act, NHB is empowered to grant Certificate of Registration to companies for commencing/carrying on the business of a housing finance institution. NHB also raises resources for the housing sector towards increasing new housing stock and provides refinance to a large set of retail lending institutions. These include scheduled commercial banks, scheduled state cooperative banks, scheduled urban cooperative banks, specialized housing finance institutions, apex co-operative housing finance societies and agriculture and rural development banks.
Objectives
- To promote sound and cost-effective housing system so as to cater to all segments of the population, by amalgamating the housing finance system with the overall financial system.
- To encourage a network of dedicated housing finance institutions to adequately serve various regions and different income groups.
- To extend resources for the real state sector, channelizing them further to housing.
- To make housing finance/home loans affordable and within the means of common man.
- To regulate or supervise the activities of housing finance companies based on regulatory and supervisory authority derived under the Act.
- To increase the supply of housing property and building materials, thereby upgrading the housing stock in the country.
- To persuade public agencies to emerge as facilitators and suppliers of serviced land.
Functions
As per the National Housing Bank Act of 1987, the National Housing Bank is expected to control the housing finance system of the country, eliminating anything that hampers the interest of depositors or is detrimental to the interest of the housing finance institutions, in general. It also extends finances to different primary lenders with respect to eligible housing loans and project loans. Apart from this, NHB has been playing the promotional role issuing guidelines for participating in the equity of housing finance companies and guaranteeing the bonds to be issued by the housing finance companies. Besides the lending operations, NHB's dedicated Training Division conducts regular training programs in areas relating to housing and housing finance for development of management capabilities of officials working in the sector.
