Merchant Finance will be launching a new zero-deposit home loan product by January 2025 to allow for more people to be home owners.
They say there are only 12,574 home loans with commercial banks and credit institutions licensed by the Reserve Bank of Fiji as of September 2024 and this is particularly notable given that Fiji has over 200,000 households.
Merchant Finance says they aspire to increase the number of people accessing finance to purchase their first home by introducing a zero-deposit home loan product. They say the new product will be the first one in the market to require zero deposit while other financial institutions typically require a deposit of 10 to 20 percent, which presents a significant obstacle for aspiring homeowners.
Merchant Finance CEO Veilawa Rereiwasaliwa says with their vision is to be the preferred financial services provider in Fiji and the new home loan product is designed to make Merchant Finance the first choice for buying your first property.
He says with zero deposit required to buy a property, they are targeting people who are currently renting and keen to invest in a home as owners but have not saved up enough for a deposit. Rereiwasaliwa says in addition to all of this, they have another 3 new products and 2 new service propositions being worked on and they are all being done to bring their vision to life.
Merchant Finance says they are also financing a number of land-subdivision projects in Suva and Nadi to increase the number of lots available to the market.
Rereiwasaliwa says they acknowledge that there is a shortage of affordable housing in Fiji and they are working with landowners to create more supply to the market.
He says they are also working with stakeholders in the construction industry to develop affordable housing models which they can finance for the customers.
The CEO adds in the coming months, Merchant Finance will share more information with the market about their new zero-deposit home loan product and other related initiatives they are collaborating on with their stakeholders.
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