The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company has signed a partnership agreement with Al-Ahli Bank to purchase a residential financing portfolio, in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Housing and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail.
This agreement is the first of its kind between the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company and a local bank, aimed at supporting homebuyers in more easily accessing housing finance solutions and enhancing homeownership opportunities, and to inject greater liquidity to be made available to those wishing to purchase real estate units through Al-Ahli Bank.
The agreement was signed at the Al-Ahli Bank headquarters in Jeddah by Mr. Hamid bin Mohammed Fayez, Senior Deputy CEO and Head of the Retail Banking Group at Saudi Al-Ahli Commercial Bank, and the CEO of the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, Mr. Fabrice Susini, in the presence of Al-Ahli Bank’s CEO, Mr. Saeed bin Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, and a group of senior executives from both sides.
For his part, Fabrice Susini, CEO of the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, emphasized that signing the agreement with Al-Ahli Bank helps those wishing to purchase a home, as the agreement supports the company’s goal of enabling lenders to offer housing finance solutions to beneficiaries at a lower cost, while also increasing liquidity in the secondary market for housing finance and enhancing its stability. He emphasized that this agreement serves as a vivid example of the role played by “mortgage refinancing” in liberalizing the housing sector.
He added: “Our relationship with Al-Ahli Bank goes beyond simply purchasing a portfolio from a financing provider; but we aspire for this agreement to be a significant addition and one of several partnership agreements with banks and financial institutions to enable lenders to offer more affordable housing finance solutions.”
For his part, Al-Ahli Bank CEO Saeed Al-Ghamdi said that our agreement with the Saudi Real Estate Refinancing Company aligns with one of our most important strategic objectives for 2018, which is to make Al-Ahli Bank the preferred housing finance partner by supporting national housing initiatives. Furthermore, the acquisition of the housing finance portfolio by the “Saudi Real Estate Refinancing Company” supports the development of the secondary housing finance market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It is worth noting that this agreement is the third signed by “Real Estate Refinancing” with financing companies and institutions. Through these agreements, the company—which is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund—aims to inject three billion riyals through financing operations and portfolio acquisitions, in order to create favorable conditions in the mortgage market and enable lenders to offer more and easier housing finance solutions.
