More loans , cheaper loans for civil servants

If building a home is the dream that every civil servant dreams even while he's awake, the Dominica Housing Loans Board (DHLB) promises to make that dream become reality. At low interest rates.

Felix Thomas, the Chairman of the DHLB says his objective is to make more loans available to civil servants.

"The only way they can do it is by allowing them a facility to borrow at low interest rates," Thomas said at a DHLB meeting recently.

Thomas said the DHLB granted 180 loans in two years, from 2011 to 2013, at a value of EC$11.8 million. From January to December 2013 the figure was 29 loans at a value of $5 million. And according to Thomas, these figure are expected to increase.

"There are many more public officers that are seeking assistance from that institution and that means we have to seek new funds for that institution and that we are seeking a cheaper source of financing to be able to provide loans at no more than five percent interest," Thomas said.

"We want to ensure that we can seek cheaper sources of financing whereby we can reduce interest rates to five percent and maybe below five percent on your reducing balance."