State mortgage provider steps up loan approvals under AMLO plan

Mexican state-run mortgage lender Fovissste said Monday it has released approvals for an additional 10,000 housing loans under a revised credit scoring system employed under the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).

In compliance with AMLO's instructions to facilitate lending, Fovissste modified the point-based system it uses to calculate loan eligibility earlier this year, lowering the minimum points to qualify for a loan to 80 from 100.

This latest round of new approvals is expected to release 7.22bn pesos (US$381mn) in loans, according to Fovissste, who added in the statement that beneficiaries have 20 calendar days to choose a financial institution to handle the mortgage loan and advance the housing allocation process.

After this, applicants have 60 calendar days to register the appraisal of the property in the system and carry out the final verification of amounts, that is, until July 25, 2019.

With this verification applicants have a further 30 calendar days, until August 24, 2019, to sign the deeds on properties.

The housing lender pointed out that in the last four months 32,000 mortgage loans have been released for a total of 23.1bn pesos.

Fovissste is well on its way to reach its target of granting 52,100 mortgages in 2019, representing 35.2bn pesos, the agency added.

The boom in Fovissste lending also reflects AMLO's drive to make home ownership more accessible.

Under the same policy push, Fovissste recently presented a plan to collaborate with commercial banks and make housing purchases more affordable.

In March, Fovissste announced the launch of the endowed housing fund program, dubbed Fovit, to combat inconsistencies and irregularities identified at Fovissste-supported housing and infrastructure.