Bank of Maldives (BML) has revised its Home Purchase Financing scheme, reducing the equity requirement to five per cent.

The change signals a significant shift from the previous tiered structure, which required a minimum of 20 per cent equity for housing loans and financing.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mohamed Shareef noted that the decision underscores the Bank’s commitment to expanding homeownership opportunities in the Maldives. He stated that the reduced requirement is intended to ease one of the main financial challenges faced by prospective homeowners and enable more Maldivian families to achieve homeownership.

Under the revised policy, the equity required to purchase an apartment valued at MVR 3.5 million has decreased from MVR 700,000 to MVR 175,000.

The Bank added that this move follows its recent policy change, removing additional collateral requirements for housing construction financing of up to MVR 3 million across all islands.