Pag-IBIG Fund seeks more developer partnerships this year

4 hours ago

0 1 minute read

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-IBIG Fund, said it hopes to partner with more housing developers this year to broaden the availability of housing units and meet its target of extending P156.86 billion in housing loans in 2025.

“We intend to tap new developers, those who are not yet accredited. There are thousands of development projects around the country,” Alexander H. Aguilar, deputy chief executive officer of the member services cluster at Pag-IBIG Fund, told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the Real Estate International Summit and Expo 2025, a forum held on Thursday.

Currently, Pag-IBIG Fund has around 467 partner developers. It plans to engage 250 more this year.

“We started talking to small, upcoming, emerging developers, and I hope that they will also bring more numbers,” Mr. Aguilar said.

For 2025, Pag-IBIG Fund aims to extend P156.86 billion in housing loans to its members, 21% higher than the P129.73 billion released last year.

This year’s target is also equivalent to 111,648 housing units, Pag-IBIG Chief Executive Officer Marilene C. Acosta said in April.

Last year, Pag-IBIG fell short of its P143-billion home loans target by 10%.

According to Mr. Aguilar, the housing industry is still reeling from the ill effects of the pandemic.

“There were not many socialized housing units built in 2024. So, that led to missing our target,” he said.

To meet this year’s housing loan target, Pag-IBIG is also set to launch housing caravans for overseas Filipino workers, who account for about 20-25% of its accounts.

It is also looking to reach out to more potential borrowers through increased advertisements and companies’ fund coordinators.

Last year, Pag-IBIG Fund’s net income climbed by 36% to a record P67.52 billion from P49.79 billion in 2023, driven by higher loans, collections, and investment returns.

Pag-IBIG ended 2024 with about 17 million members. It is looking to add at least 1.5 million new members this year, Ms. Acosta said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz