Parliament

FNPF to shore up mortgage re-payments from March

December 10, 2020 7:35 am

New laws are being introduced to protect Fijians homes from being seized by banks for the inability to pay loans by accessing their Fiji National Provident Fund accounts.

The COVID-19 Response Home Loan Bill has been tabled in parliament to be debated and voted upon this Friday.

Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told the House that the government does not want Fijians to lose their homes because they can’t service their loans.

Article continues after advertisement

“What this law does, is firstly ensure that the banks will continue with the holiday or arrangement until 31st March, afterward, the banks must use all endeavors to ensure that they can continue with the same arrangement. In the event that they cannot, the borrower can access their FNPF account – up to 50%.”

This also applies to any FNPF member who has already used part of their retirement fund to buy a home previously.

Sayed-Khaiyum confirms the Fund will have a charge over the homes, and if any property does end up being seized by a bank or lender, the FNPF will be paid back all monies.

“That amount of money from the sale must go back to the FNPF Preserved Account. You could have a situation where a person has used their FNFP money now and if they subsequently lose their home – they would have lost their home and their FNPF Preserved Account.”

The Reserve Bank of Fiji will also be empowered to monitor.

“We want to have the RBF have oversight over these accounts because homes are very important. What’s the point of preserving your FNPF if you’re going to lose the roof over your head.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says he met with all banks and lending institutions two days ago, and all have agreed to extend the loan repayment holidays until March 31st next year.