In September the National Bank of Belize opened its doors with the Prime Minister declaring that it was a bank that would be driven by the mantra of service to the people and not necessarily by profits. After it opened its doors, the bank has been living up to its billing. The Guardian sat with the bank’s general manager, Jose Marin, he explained that the bank is performing very well.
As at the end of January, 229 mortgage applications had been approved by the bank. Of those applications 51% were public officers, 16% were teachers, and 33% were applications by the general public. On average the mortgage size is 75 thousand dollars. The loan limit is 175 thousand dollars and it applies for both new construction as well as refinancing mortgages held by other banks.
So far almost 4 million dollars have been approved for home construction with approximately 1.6million dollars having been drawn down so far. A slowing down in the drawdown process has been the rains which has not allowed for construction to take place. Nonetheless Marin says that with improving weather conditions that is expected to change.
The number of applicants that have made their way to the bank is indicative that there is a great need for the services offered by the bank with interest rate varying from 5.5% to 7%. And the terms are more than reasonable. There is a 6 month grace period allowed for construction during which the mortgage holder is only responsible for paying interest which is accruing. After the last disbursement is made the principal and interest payment is done a month thereafter.
Marin states that the primary objective of the bank is to ensure that the borrowers end up with a home so there is strict supervision of construction taking place with disbursements made depending on the stage of construction which is completed. Marin took time out also to reiterate that the National Bank is prepared to serve every single Belizean. It is not limited to teachers and public officers. He encourages anyone who is interested to come in and see how the bank can help, especially now since they are doing refinancing for existing mortgages as well as loans for vehicles and business development.
