RBI increases housing-loan limits under Priority Sector Lending for RRBs, SFBs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to raise the limits for housing loans for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Small Finance Banks (SFBs) for eligibility under priority sector lending, in order to provide them with a level-playing field with other Scheduled Commercial Banks. For RRBs and SFBs, housing loans to individuals up to Rs 35 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of one million and above) and Rs 25 lakh in other centres, provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit in the metropolitan centres and at other centres does not exceed Rs 45 lakh and Rs 30 lakh, respectively, will be eligible for classification under Priority Sector Lending, RBI said in a release.

So far, RRB loans to individuals up to Rs 20 lakh for purchase/construction of a dwelling unit per family provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit does not exceed Rs 25 lakh were eligible to be classified under priority sector. In terms of the compendium for SFBs, loans to individuals up to Rs 28 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of ten lakh and above) and Rs 20 lakh in other centres, are eligible to be classified under priority sector, provided that the cost of dwelling unit does not exceed Rs 35 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, respectively.

In its notification, the RBI said that, the existing family income limit of Rs 2 lakh per annum, prescribed in the master direction for RRBs and the compendium for SFBs, eligible for loans to housing projects exclusively for the purpose of construction of houses for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low-Income Groups (LIG), has been revised to Rs3 lakh per annum for EWS and Rs 6 lakh per annum for LIG.

Accordingly, the RRBs/SFBs are allowed to reckon their outstanding portfolio of housing loans meeting the revised criteria for classification under priority sector lending from the date of this circular, ie, 6 May 2019. For detailed information on this, visit the official notification issued by the RBI at https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11550&Mode=0