GSIS winds down home lending plan

Members of the Government Service Insurance System can now avail themselves of housing loans through the Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-IBIG Fund.

The two agencies signed Monday a credit facility agreement wherein the GSIS is providing an initial allocation of P5 billion to finance its member’ housing loans, a move that comes in the wake of the pension fund winding down its own internal shelter financing program.

Last April, GSIS decided to do so in favor of forging partnerships with key shelter agencies (KSAs) that have the proven expertise on home lending.

“We want to synchronize our efforts in the implementation of the government housing program and to avoid duplication with the KSAs’ functions,” said Robert Vergara, GSIS president and general manager.

GSIS has been providing its members direct housing loans even before the Pag-IBIG was created.

Vergara said that the lackluster performance of the GSIS’ housing initiative prompted the current GSIS leadership to find ways to rationalize its home-lending program.

He said that in 2010, the GSIS extended only P600 million in housing loans to less than 600 members while Pag-IBIG loaned P5.5 billion to more than 11,000 government employees.

Vergara added that half of the housing loan portfolio of the GSIS, or more than 16,000 housing units, have either been foreclosed or canceled.

“Our home-lending program is a fraction of what Pag-IBIG is already extending to our members,” he said. “Since they are already doing that, [we have partnered with them] so that we are more effective in reaching our members.”

“Pag-IBIG has shown that they know how to effectively administer a home-lending program,” he explained. “We’re having a partnership with someone that is strong in this area, and in that way we’re hope to be able to use the funds we have more efficiently, and reach more people than what we are currently doing in our direct home lending.”

He said he has requested Pag-IBIG to put up a special lane for GSIS members and pensioners to facilitate the processing of their housing loans.

Earlier, Vergara said the suspension of the GSIS housing loan program would enable the pension fund to focus on other types of loans it could offer to its members and pensioners.

GSIS documents showed that 85 percent of its loan portfolio was into short- to medium-term loans such as the consolidated loan, emergency loan, one-time cash advance, policy loan and pension loan.