NEW DELHI: The Godrej Group, which has interests in consumer goods, security products, defence and engineering, Tuesday announced its foray into the housing finance sector and is targeting to disburse Rs 3,000 crore loans in the next three years.
The new arm of the group— Godrej Housing Finance (GHF) — will start with an equity capital of Rs 1,500 crore infused by the promoters for the first three years, said GHF chairman Pirojsha Godrej.
Beyond that, it may consider getting an external investor on board and an initial public offering in 6-7 years, once the need for more capital arises. GHF would offer home loans at 6.69 per cent and aims to touch Rs 10,000 crore in assets under management over the next three years.
According to Manish Shah, managing director and chief executive of the new venture, retail will be the core focus for the company and GHF will not be entering the developer loan segment, where a slew of its peers have faced reverses. The lender intends to focus on the mortgage business starting with home loans, followed shortly by loans against property.
In the near future, the company will expand its portfolio to offer business and personal loans, leveraging the group’s consumer and agri business ecosystems to build these verticals, the company said. “We believe that the housing finance market is under penetrated and underserved.
The industry is also plagued with being complex and convoluted with hidden conditions and painfully long customer journeys. We aim to correct this. We want to give customers a home loan that is customised to what’s important to them, based on their housing needs, financial capability and convenience,” Shah added.