Shri Girish Kousgi
Managing Director

Message from the Managing Director.

Dear Shareholders,

I am privileged to have joined Can Fin Homes as its Managing Director and CEO on 05/09/2019.

We will continue to fulfil our primary objective of providing finance to people to own homes and increase housing stock in the country. Instituted 31 years ago, the organisation remains committed to the noble mission of reaching out to our country-men desirous of having their own shelter and ensuring a roof over every Indian’s head.

The Company has overcome several challenges faced by the sector, capitalized on the business opportunities and has expanded its reach in the domestic market.

The possibility of every citizen in India having a roof over their head, till recently, appeared to be a distant reality. However, the flagship initiative ‘Housing for All by 2022’ of the government has given a fillip to the pursuit of this dream. Since the announcement of the initiative in 2015, approx. 1.53 Crore houses have been built in rural as well as urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Through the smart city mission under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Government of India aims to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by developing 100 cities across the country making them citizen friendly and sustainable.

The development of housing sector is essential for sustainable growth of the economy. Presently, the demand for affordable housing in India is rising at a swift pace due to rapid urbanization, growth in population, increase in nuclear families and higher income levels. With the entry of additional private players in the housing arena, Low and Mid-income housing clearly became the front-runner of driving the housing sector growth against the backdrop of the government’s reformatory push.

The announcement made in the Budget regarding additional tax benefit for interest paid on affordable home loans (cost of house upto Rs 45 lakhs), taking the total tax benefit to Rs 3.5 lakhs to borrowers will be a big boost to increase the demand for housing loans and also a step forward to reach the Govt’s initiative of ‘Housing for all’ by 2022. Further, eligible borrowers can avail PMAY Cash Linked Subsidy (CLSS). The inclusion of the two middle income categories – MIG I and II under the PMAY – CLSS scheme will certainly improve affordability for a wider segment of home buyers.

Can Fin Homes is the first housing finance company to have introduced Affordable Housing Loan Centres (AHLCs) to lend exclusively for affordable houses in the peripheral areas of the Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Currently, we have 21 AHLCs. Since the land and building value are more affordable in these areas, lending under the Affordable Housing Loan Scheme (Urban & Rural) and the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is feasible.

So far, Can Fin Homes has focussed mainly on Housing Loans to individuals with 90% of the loan book comprising of retail home loans and over 71% lending in salaried space. Most of our borrowers are first time home buyers as evidenced by the average age of our incremental borrowers at around 40 years. We will continue to abide by our dictum to have a judicious lending mix of housing and non-housing loans. Our core business principle of staying a purely retail and affordable home lender for lower income group of customers will remain constant.

The introduction of the annual reset clause effective from April 2017 ensures that the rate of interest is automatically reset on an anniversary basis, protecting both the customer as well as CFHL. CFHL is the only HFC to have introduced such a fair and transparent interest rate mechanism.

During August 2019, 5 new branches (Ballari, Pollachi, Thanjavur, Mancherial and Srikakulam) have been opened, increasing the tally of outlets to 194 and extending our footprints across different parts of the country.

As a corporate agent, Can Fin Homes Ltd. has entered into distribution of general insurance products of three companies in addition to life insurance to offer customized products at competitive rates so that customers can tide over unforeseen eventualities.

As our country marches ahead on its growth trajectory to complete 75 glorious years of independence, we at Can Fi Homes Ltd. remain committed to building a better nation by reaching out to more home aspirants. We expect 2019-20 to be a year when many more individuals can now hope to own a home rather than living in rented accommodation.

We look forward to the huge opportunities ahead of us and are ready to face the challenges head on with the confidence that at CFHL, we have the right mix of foresight, competency and financial strength to turn today’s prospects into tomorrow’s success.

The unstinting support and guidance of our regulator, National Housing Bank, our parent Institution Canara Bank, our Board of Directors, customers, stakeholders, lenders, Advocates, Valuers, Direct Selling Agents, Auditors, rating Agencies has also played a major part in the journey of Can Fin Homes Ltd. so far. The hard work and contribution of the employees are also appreciable.

I look forward to contribute my mite towards the further growth of this institution.

Regards,

Girish Kousgi
Managing Director