IFC invests $100 mln in SeABank to help buyers of budget homes

More lower- and middle-income families in Vietnam will be able to buy homes thanks to a $100 million investment in SeABank by the IFC, the World Bank’s investment arm.

Through the IFC investment, which aims to boost access to housing loans, the Hanoi-headquartered SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026.

The project is expected to create thousands of new jobs in construction and other related sectors, the IFC added in a Tuesday release.

SeABank vice chairwoman Le Thu Thuy said: “The current housing demand among lower and middle-income families in Vietnam is considerably high, but their access to finance remains limited. The IFC’s funding will provide SeABank with stable long-term capital and help us strengthen our lending portfolio related to affordable housing, therefore, promoting access to housing finance, expanding the market and generating economic growth in Vietnam.”

As part of the investment, the IFC will also advise SeABank to develop dedicated housing finance products to better serve lower- and middle-income people, a key priority for the government of Vietnam, the global investment institution said.

Since 2021 the IFC has advised the Vietnamese bank in the areas of climate finance, the Banking on Women program, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).

“Limited housing supply along with rising demand has aggravated the housing shortage for lower- and middle-income earners in Vietnamese cities, leaving many people simply unable to access the funds they need to buy a home,” said Thomas Jacobs, IFC country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

“By supporting a leading player, the IFC will help address the shortage of affordable housing financing solutions and send a positive signal to the market, highlighting the viability of catering to this untapped market,” he added.

“We are optimistic this will have a catalytic effect on other banks, promoting a more competitive sector that’s better positioned to meet Vietnam’s growing housing needs, boosting the economy and delivering benefits for people.”

The IFC estimates that half of the Vietnamese population, about 50 million people, is expected to live in urban areas by 2040. This will create the need for an estimated 374,000 additional housing units every year. However, the limited availability of long-term funding has restricted the ability of domestic banks to grow their long-tenor lending books, including housing loans. This makes access to housing finance especially challenging for lower and middle-income homebuyers, the IFC said.

In Vietnam, the IFC has worked with both housing developers and banks to promote the availability of both affordable housing and housing finance that lower- and middle-income households can access.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, SeABank received a five-year convertible loan of $75 million from the IFC to support its growth and increase targeted lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and a $200 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support women-owned SMEs and for climate financing.