IIFL Home Finance Secures $300 Mn Loan from ADB for Affordable Housing

IIFL Home Finance on Friday said it has signed a USD 300 million (about Rs 2,700 crore) loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to strengthen access to affordable housing finance for lower income borrowers, particularly women.

The loan marks IIFL Home Finance’s first syndicated external commercial borrowing, the mortgage lender said in a statement.

The financing package, led by ADB as the mandated lead arranger and bookrunner (MLAB), comprises USD 150 million from ADB and USD 150 million in parallel loans from MUFG (MLAB), Emirates Bank (Mandated Lead Arranger), Sampath Bank (Lead Arranger- LA) and Hatton National Bank (LA), it said.

IIFL Home Finance will on-lend the loan proceeds to provide mortgages to women in low-income communities in peri-urban and urban areas and in lagging states of India, including a target of over 25 per cent of the loan proceeds for green-certified affordable homes.

ADB’s funding will help extend affordable housing to deeper markets and support the homeownership aspirations of low-income and economically weaker families, especially women, the company's MD & CEO Girish Kousgi said.

"India’s affordable housing deficit is most pronounced among economically weaker and low‑income households, particularly women, who constitute only 13 percent of homeowners. Addressing this gap necessitates the adoption of sustainable and climate‑resilient construction practices," ADB Country Director for India, Mio Oka said.

India is experiencing a severe housing shortage estimated at 31 million units by 2030, mostly affecting low-income groups, it said, adding, they face several challenges in obtaining mortgages including a lack of documents to prove their incomes.