THE HOME Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) saw sustained financial performance in 2018, as collections and loan takeouts continued to book double-digit growth.
Pag-IBIG Fund reported that it booked P40.27 billion worth of collections in members’ savings, 11% higher compared with the previous year.
This included P4.47 billion collected under the Modified Pag-IBIG 2 Savings Program, a special savings mechanism offered to members and retirees.
“This increase in members’ savings collected can be attributed to better awareness and appreciation by our members of our savings program,” Pag-IBIG Fund Chairman of the Board Eduardo D. Del Rosario said in his report yesterday.
On the other hand, the mutual fund released P75.31 billion in housing loan takeouts in 2018, 16% higher than the P65.1 billion in the comparable year-ago period.
Home loan borrowers reached 90,375 in 2018, up 12% from the 80,964 borrowers recorded a year ago. Out of the housing loan borrowers last year, 21,389 or 24% were from the socialized housing sector.
Despite booking robust growth in contributions and takeouts, Pag-IBIG Fund maintained its interest rates at a yearly 3% for socialized housing and 5.375% per annum for regular housing, claiming to be the lowest in history.
“Because of our tax-exempt status and better-than-expected performance, we can afford to give subsidized interest rates to our minimum-wage and low-income members,” added Mr. Del Rosario, who is also the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.
Overall, the mutual fund tallied a P33.17-billion net income in 2018, up 9.6% from the P30.27 billion recorded a year ago.
Based on preliminary data, projected dividends were at a revised P28.23 billion, more than 2% higher compared with the previous year.
Total assets, on the other hand, were at P533,43 billion, 9% higher than the assets booked in 2017. — K.A.N. Vidal

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