KUALA LUMPUR (April 26): Action will be taken against banks who “deliberately” do not give out housing loans to those who are eligible or who fulfil the criteria.

“If you have difficulty getting loans, refer to MoF (Ministry of Finance),” advised Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, telling homebuyers to escalate their grievances to the ministry.

Lim was speaking at the opening ceremony of the HOC-MAPEX 2019 for the Klang Valley region at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre today.

“If banks refuse to give loans, give us (the ministry) the list [names of rejected loan applicants] and we will check with the banks. If it’s not justified, we may consider taking action [against the banks]," he told officials of the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) who were present at the event.

Lim also reminded banks of their responsibility to not hinder the efforts of the government in ensuring eligible homebuyers are able to secure loans.

“We (the ministry) want the banks’ cooperation to start giving out loans. I will get the list and we will ask the banks to explain. We hope the banks can give [their] cooperation," said Lim.

Meanwhile, Rehda president Datuk Soam Heng Choon hopes banks will give the right margin of financing to eligible homebuyers as developers are seeing less than 50% of loans being approved.

A total of 72 private developers are showcasing their properties in this three day event including S P Setia Bhd, Paramount Property, Eco World Development Group Bhd and Gamuda Land.

Also participating in the event are seven financial institutions, namely CIMB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Hong Leong Investment Bank, Maybank, Public Bank, RHB Bank and United Overseas Bank alongside seven government agencies.

More than 17,000 residential units with a total value of more than RM146 million will be on sale.