Banks Should Boost Housing Sector Loans

Banks should increase the share of housing loans from their total loans by four times to help meet the government's housing action plan, the CEO of Bank Maskan (main housing bank) said. 
"Housing loans account for approximately 5.5% of bank lending portfolio. This is while lenders should raise this share to 20% in line with the government’s “Surge in Housing Production' initiative," Mohammad Shayan was quoted as saying by IBENA.
"In the past, banks were more inclined toward the key housing sector with 20% of loans. However, now they prefer to give money to other commercial sectors simply because mortgages are not feasible [profitable] given the long repayment period," Shayan said.