Social Issue

Although mortgage lending has grown considerably during the last decade, driven mainly by the growth of the population in the cities and the migration of the rural population to the urban areas, the information on the purchase of houses for the lower segment of the market is not reliable. Many Cambodians still have inaccurate references on their acquisition and therefore cannot apply for loan guarantees with most of the traditional financial institutions. First Finance has planned the use of the properties as collateral and has found out that the risks are not as high as most financial institutions believe.

Our Response

First Finance is a regulated Cambodian lender that gives a microfinance perspective to a traditional banking product – the mortgage. First Finance provides long-term mortgages, home improvement loans, and home equity lines of credit to low-income families. Today more than 97% of its clients are first-time home buyers.

First Finance is primarily aimed at families who do not have property titles and at workers from unstructured sectors or small business owners who do not have easy-to-verify income, who are ignored by the Cambodian mortgage market.

Expected Social Impact

This investment of the Netri Foundation will allow 60 families access to financing for the purchase of their first home.