Public servants to benefit from new bank

THE CHIEF executive of the newly established Human Settlements Bank predicts the new institution will be able to help as many as 3 million people in the gap market.

Samson Moraba said the new bank would take the form of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, which is a development finance bank.

The gap market comprises people who earn too much to obtain RDP houses and too little to get mortgages from the banks.

Moraba said the new bank would ensure that public servants who have been battling to secure mortgages would be helped.

Groups expected to come knocking at the door of the Human Settlements Development Bank include nurses, teachers and defence force personnel.

The bank was launched in Cape Town on Friday by Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

Moraba said the new institution would work with the traditional commercial banks, and that the banking sector had been represented at the launch on Friday.

He said that when it came to the gap market, the commercial banks could come to their rescue whenever they wished.

“We are ramping up the number of people who qualify for ownership,” Moraba said.

He added that the bank would be fully operational after October following all formal processes to set it up, as well as its meeting of all the requirements.

Sisulu said she was happy that the bank had been established. “I am finally happy we got to this point. It has taken us a long time.” The establishment of the bank for the gap market was backed by other parties in Parliament.