Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Petra Trust Limited Company, a corporate trustee to provide pension-backed mortgages to contributors to the Petra Opportunity Pension Scheme.
A statement from the Bank and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the MOU sets the stage for pension contributors to trigger benefits of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) as amended by National Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2014 (Act 883) where contributors were allowed to leverage their Tier 3 contributions towards owning a home.
Under the MOU, the Bank was offering a hundred percent mortgage funding to members of the Petra Opportunity Pension Scheme, implying no down payment was required to access the mortgage.
The interest rate offered per the MOU was competitive with flexible payment options of either monthly, bi-weekly or weekly.
Mr. Kofi D. Fynn, the Managing Director for Petra Trust Limited Company, according to the statement said the signing of the MoU was a testament to the fact that Petra Trust was focused on developing value for its customers.
“It has become clear to us that one of the key aspects of retirement is a place for members to lay their heads.
“Though we have had conversations with several other institutions, we chose Republic Bank because it has demonstrated its commitment to housing, which is in line with our strategic vision and core values; we look forward to strengthening this relations to ensure that both of our customers receive the value that they deserve,” Mr Fynn said.
Mr. Benjamin Dzoboku, the Managing Director of Republic Bank Ghana PLC expressed gratitude to the joint team that worked to see the fruition of the collaboration.
He said, “this is a unique relationship that is very important to the Bank and the Group’.
Republic Bank was the first Bank to engage the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to propose the Pension-Backed Mortgage product to make homeownership accessible to Ghanaians as they consider life after retirement.
“Homeownership is one of our ways of giving back to the community and to add value to the lives of our cherished customers and prospects during their retirement; we made a proposition to the Regulator, NPRA, to churn out a mortgage product that will assist employees secure homes using their Tier 3 pension contributions. We are ready to explore more joint efforts such as this, to serve our people,” Mr. Dzoboku added.
