The National Housing Bank (NHB) has raised Rs 300 crore through tax-free priority sector bonds.
The remaining Rs 200 crore, sanctioned by the government for providing loan assistance to Gujarat earthquake victims, is expected to be raised shortly.
The first tranche of Rs 300 crore privately placed bond issue, with a coupon rate of 5.15 per cent and a maturity period of seven years, was fully subscribed, executive director RV Verma said in a statement here today.
The bonds, which opened for subscription on January 14 and closed on January 24, have a call option at the end of five years. NHB, however, did not provide any timeframe for raising the remaining Rs 200 crore.
During 2001-02, the government had made a special allocation for tax-free bonds worth Rs 500 crore to NHB for providing loans to earthquake victims of Gujarat for construction of new houses and repair of damaged units.
NHB also received a Rs 1,000 crore line of credit from Reserve Bank of India for the same purpose.
Immediately after the disaster, NHB had taken measures for providing relief to the victims of earthquake by extending loans through various agencies, Verma said.
