Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), a wholly owned company of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed an  agreement with Saudi National Bank (SNB) to sell a real estate financing portfolio worth SR1 billion ($266.58 million), which is considered to be the largest bank refinancing in the kingdom.

 

The agreement was signed in the presence of Majid bin Abdullah Al Hogail, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, and Ammar Alkhudairy, Chairman of SNB by Fabrice Susini, CEO of SRC, and Majed Al Ghamdi, Chief Executive Officer of Retail at SNB. 

 

The agreement aims to refinance the portfolio to provide long-term liquidity to the Saudi home financing market and facilitate risk management in the sector.

 

Susini said the company continues to expand its partnerships with originators to boost the rate of Saudi homeownership to 70% by 2030, in line with the objectives of the Vision 2030 housing program through supporting the home financing market and originators by providing the best innovative financial solutions and increase the home finance sector’s contribution to the GDP.

 

He added that the agreement signed with SNB is the largest home refinancing agreement in the banking sector, which is an evidence of the company's continuous support for home financing originators through liquidity and risk management solutions to provide affordable home financing and to increase home ownership.

 

Al Ghamdi said: "Our long-term partnership with SRC will enable us to provide housing finance solutions that fulfil the needs and requirements of Saudi families. The liquidity generated through this partnership will enable us to provide more home financing solutions to citizens in the Kingdom, broadening our already-large beneficiary base. The partnership also provides us with the capital and risk management tools that are critical to our overall operations and capital allocation to achieve the objectives of the Housing Program - one of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 programs."

 

The home financing sector has witnessed a significant growth in recent years in the number of loans reaching 300,000 loans worth SR140 billion in 2020. In 2021, more than 260,000 contracts worth more than SR150 billion were registered, the statement said. - TradeArabia News Service