Piramal to apply to NHB to enter housing finance business

Piramal Enterprises has announced its plans to enter the retail housing finance business. Piramal Finance, its 100 per cent subsidiary, will further make an application to the National Housing Bank (NHB) for incorporating a housing finance company (HFC) as its subsidiary. Piramal Finance has been present in the wholesale finance business for a long time, catering to the financing needs of developers across residential and commercial real estate projects. Its current overall loan book is over Rs 19,170 crore. The firm provides early stage equity until later stage debt, construction finance for residential and mezzanine and structured debt as well as lease rental discounting for commercial projects. It also caters to non-real estate sectors such as operating infrastructure. Moreover, the group also manages external funds with an asset under management of Rs 7,315 crore, acting in a fiduciary capacity, including alliances with leading global investors. According to the company, individual home loans are both, a diversification strategy as well as a natural extension of its business, completing its suite of products with an offering for the retail customer segment. The firm believes it has successfully scaled-up its presence in wholesale finance and has established a blueprint for growth within the real estate asset class. As per reports, it believes that it is an opportune for the company to make a foray into retail housing finance. With this move, it will not only benefit from its existing relationships with development partners, but also from its ability to extend the tenure of its relationship from financing construction of the project to funding the individual home buyer.