The COVID-19 outbreak has led to business disruption and a temporary fall in mortgage demand. With work from home being prevalent in many industries, providing seamless services following with strict social distancing is definitely a challenge especially for the housing sector that is used to the touch-and-feel of lending offices.
Mr. Hardayal Prasad, MD& CEO, PNB Housing Finance said, “The demand scenario for housing loans is likely to improve gradually in the months running up to March 31, 2021 and we expect retail disbursements of Rs 13,000 crore in FY21. Interestingly, there is not much change in assets under management (AUM) in FY20 compared to FY19. We are undertaking continuous and vigorous work to improve asset quality, spreads, NIM and collections, even as we strive to bring in efficiency in operations”.
Given the many travel restrictions and other constraints, customers today are looking forward to contactless and touchless options. Mr. Prasad added, “While the shift to digital was already underway, the pandemic has accelerated the pace. There is a positive attitude among both the customers and service providers towards adopting digital technology. I believe, only a productivity and efficiency-led model will help the organisation succeed in the long run.”
With the aim to provide contactless and touchless options to ensure zero or minimal risks and minimise visits to branches for loans, the company came up with a new platform for its customers ‘Ace’ – a digital on boarding platform that ensures easy and secure approval and disbursal of loans with minimum physical interface. The platform enables customers to apply for loans without visiting a branch. Ace lets customers log into the PNB Housing portal, fill the loan application form and upload the necessary KYC documents for online verification.
Since the time COVID-19 brought the entire nation to a standstill, the Government of India has been taking measures to address liquidity-related stress points and structural issues. Mr. Prasad added, “We welcome the various regulatory measures introduced by the government and RBI over the past few months. The recent regulation on loan restructuring is a welcome step. But, as a housing finance company, we need clarity on the restructuring and have approached the regulator for the same”.
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