PCH: An explainer

The housing loans that commercial banks offer with the support of the Public Corporation for Housing (PCH), colloquially known as Iskan loans or PCH loans, are engineered according to a smart financing formula that is advantageous for borrowers but nothing short of complicated. When a first time home buyer with Lebanese nationality and residency has been approved for a PCH loan, and has deposited their 10 percent down payment for the home purchase, they can access 90 percent of the approved loan amount at the participating commercial bank that has agreed to issue the loan. This bank will wire the remaining 10 percent of the loan to the PCH, where this amount is held in an interest bearing account to the benefit of the borrower. Under the tripartite loan agreement between borrower, bank and PCH, the borrower will then be responsible for paying down the principal of the loan to