BHBFC seeks Tk 3.85b paid-up capital release

The state-run Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) is facing an acute capital shortfall, which is constraining its ability to disburse loans amid rising demand for housing finance, officials say.

To address the situation, it has sought the release of its remaining paid-up capital of Tk 3.85 billion from the government.

Currently, BHBFC has an authorised capital of Tk 10 billion and a paid-up capital of Tk 5.0 billion.

Of the paid-up capital, the government has so far provided Tk 1.15 billion.

Due to the capital shortage, the corporation has been unable to disburse a number of already sanctioned loans, including conventional housing loans and housing loans for government employees, according to its officials.

In the fiscal year 2025-26, the volume of accumulated undisbursed loans stood at Tk 2.0 billion under conventional schemes and Tk 500 million under the government employees' housing loan programme.

At present, the specialised housing finance institution provides loans in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas, as well as divisional cities, districts, upazilas, and rural growth centres.

However, its financing capacity remains significantly below the country's growing housing demand.

Its Managing Director Md Abdul Mannan recently submitted a proposal to the finance ministry, seeking the release of the remaining paid-up capital.

In the proposal, he said receiving the outstanding capital would enable the corporation to expand housing finance for low- and middle-income groups, helping meet the country's basic housing needs.

The proposal also noted a significant improvement in loan recovery, with the default loan ratio declining to 3.45 per cent from around 25 per cent previously.

BHBFC officials claimed that the corporation currently had no deficit in capital adequacy or provisioning.

According to the proposal, around 76 per cent of disbursed loans have been provided outside the metropolitan areas, and the remaining 24 per cent in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitan areas.

rezamumu@gmail.com