Bank of Maldives has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure to secure land in Hulhumale’ Phase 1 and 2, and Vilimale’, for the development of 3,000 housing units under the Inclusive National Affordable Housing Scheme, as mandated by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to all banks.
This follows the Cabinet's decision to establish the National Housing Affordability and Accessibility Project, aimed at improving access to affordable housing in the country.
A key component of this initiative includes developing housing units in collaboration with financial institutions and offering them to the public through a lease-to-own model.
Aimed at expanding home ownership opportunities, the MMA’s new regulations mandate that all commercial banks in the Maldives allocate between 10 percent and 15 percent of their total loan portfolio to the Inclusive National Affordable Housing Scheme. Following this requirement, Bank of Maldives subsequently formed and registered a new 100 percent owned subsidiary, BML Affordable Home Leasing Pvt Ltd, with MMA’s approval in line with Section 4(a)(1) of the INAH regulation, which will be fully compliant with Shari’ah principles.
The agreement was signed by the Minister, Dr. Abdulla Muththalib, and the Managing Director of the newly registered subsidiary of Bank of Maldives, BML Affordable Home Leasing Pvt Ltd, Hassan Shaam, at an event held this morning.
Speaking at the event, BML CEO and Managing Director Mohamed Shareef stated that, as the largest bank in the country, holding over 52 percent of the total loan market share, the Bank recognizes the tremendous privilege and responsibility we have in positively contributing to this critical project.
He added that the Bank has already invited selected developers, both local and foreign, to submit Expressions of Interest, following which it will carry out the necessary evaluations and due diligence and sign MOUs to progress this initiative.
