NNA- Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of the “Banque de l'Habitat”, Antoine Habib, expected the resumption of real estate financing in dollars within a few months, following the completion of the legal and logistical arrangements for the start of the implementation of the provisions of the loan concluded with the “Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development”, at a value of 50 million Kuwaiti dinars, equivalent to approximately $160 million.

He said in a statement today: “The decision to stabilize the loan by the management of the fund, which takes Kuwait as its headquarters, allowed for a leeway amidst the forced cessation of credit and advance operations by commercial and investment banks in Lebanon due to the worsening monetary and financial crises since the fall of 2019 that caused an almost complete blockage of all financing operations.”

Habib indicated that "the bank's management has begun finalizing the procedural steps required to launch the package of housing loans in dollars, in coordination with the relevant ministries and institutions, and within a plan to resume granting long-term loans in dollars especially to those with low and medium incomes, with the aim of enabling them to own their own homes outside the capital, and in line with the main directions of the bank that envisage an effective contribution to comprehensive development.”

He stressed "the importance of these loans in moving the real estate stagnation", stressing "the priority of giving loans to people with limited income to own apartments less than 150 meters in villages, cities and the Lebanese countryside to reduce displacement from the countryside, in accordance with the housing bank system."

Habib concluded by underlining the need for Lebanese citizens to regain confidence in themselves and not to give up, pointing to the cooperation of Arab and foreign parties with Lebanon and noting that the Banque de l'Habitat presents the required models through its cooperation with the Arab Fund in the field of housing, and with the United States Agency for Development (USAID) by giving technical assistance for loans regarding sewage treatment in villages, and with the Total Energy Group in the field of solar energy, as well as the credit programs in Lebanese pounds that are launched in the housing and alternative energy sectors.

==========R.Sh.