KCB Diaspora mortgage scheme grows by 30 pc

By Fredrick Obura

Kenya Commercial Bank’s mortgage product that targets Kenyans living abroad has grown 30 per cent since it was launched five months ago.

KCB attributed the growth to favourable terms attached to the dollar mortgage product.

"There is a growing trend by Diaspora to own homes back in the country," noted Joram Kiarie, the Director Mortgages at KCB Group.

"We have created opportunity through our foreign exchange mortgage loan. Five months into the market, we are happy with the performance," he said

Before last year’s amalgamation of Savings and Loans Mortgages with the larger KCB Group, the firm was not allowed in law to offer foreign exchange mortgage loans.

"Key advantage is that a dollar denominated loan attracts rates as low as seven per cent compared to local currency," he said,

In March, KCB launched a property website to link homebuyers with investors.

The site www.kcbpropertyguide.co.ke, has seen a spike in both local and international visitors, averaging up to 610,000 hits per month.

Kiarie was addressing 250 prospective homeowners who had turned up at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre for the KCB Saving and Loan Mortgages Bus tour on Saturday.

He said KCB is anticipating that Parliament will pass the building code this year, and which would embed professionalism in the construction sector.

The code is also expected to allow other forms of building materials other than brick and mortar, which may lower building costs, and lead to the growth of low cost housing.