2 state housing banks to be closed down?

The government plans to close down two state banks that grant housing loans, alleged Ceylon Bank Employees Union secretary Ranjan Senanayake.

The State Mortgage and Investment Bank and the Housing Development Finance Corporation have already been imposed with restrictions that have come to be known only after customers applied for loans, he said.

The two director boards may already be knowing those conditions clearly, but neither the customers nor the trade unions have been informed, he said, adding they have come to know about them through unofficial sources.

It is reported restrictions have been imposed on housing loans granted with EPF savings as security, which in effect has resulted in a decline in the customer base, he said.

It is also said both banks are to be made affiliates of the People’s Bank and the Bank of Ceylon, he said.