Getting a home loan in Cambodia, you will need a land title as most local banks claim a land title is a basic requirement, but there is a common perception that it can only be obtained against hard title properties.
But banks like Sathapana, ABA and ACLEDA do have loan options for soft title properties. Not surprisingly, Sathapana’s conditions are somewhat stricter than hard titled properties, with loans of up to $100,000 available to borrowers at 11% P.A. over 10 years.
Here is an overview of Sathapana’s borrowing conditions.
Benefits:
- Competitive interest rate
- Easy access to a nationwide branch network
- Flexible repayment terms
Eligibility:
- Cambodian citizens aged 18 to 60 years
- Permanently residing in the country
- Living at a permanent address certified by local authorities
- Employed with regular salary or business owner with stable income
- Other relevant documents as requested.
Requirements:
- National ID document (NID) / document issued by an official authority
- Photocopy of property title
- Sales & Purchase Agreement (SPA)
- Employer letter confirming salary and/or income for last 3 months
- 6 months bank statements, fixed deposit receipts, saving passbook and other financial assets
- Property valuation report
- Loan repayment records (optional)
- Other relevant documents as requested.
How to apply:
- Visit any branch with required documents or complete an online form.
- Contact +855 (0) 23 / 81 999 010 or customercare@sathapana.com.kh
ACLEDA also has options for the purchase of soft title properties of up to $100,000 equal to 60% of the property value.
ABA offers up to $30,000 towards the purchase of soft title properties for around 1.3% per month according to the following criteria Source
- Borrower 18-65 years old
- Legal, harmless business (not an environmentally or socially damaging business) running for at least 6 months
- Monthly loan repayment of not exceeding 70% of net disposable income from the business per period (Principal and Interest)
- Property title (in own name or in third party name) as collateral for the loan.
- Positive information at Credit Bureau of Cambodia.
Home loan with a land title
PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – “… If you are from America or Europe, you expect that having a steady job with a good income means that you can borrow money from a bank. Not so in Cambodia. In a survey of six local banks, all said that a land title is a requirement.
Banks refer to a land title as “collateral” – and this collateral cannot be a movable object, like a car, a boat, or a motorcycle.
It comes down to the fear that if the borrower does not pay, the bank won’t get its money back because Cambodia’s laws are weak, explains Lun Bouna, a credit officer at Cambodian Public Bank that also requires a land title for loans.
Yet for small business owners or entrepreneurs with new business ideas – this leaves little choice for obtaining loans. “There are very few banks (in Cambodia) that are willing to lend to start-up companies that don’t have at least a three-year track record of being in business for profit,” says Anthony Galliano, an American banker who now has an investment management company.
Part of the problem, he added, is that businesses in Cambodia have poor accounting practices and are not audited – so banks can’t rely on their financial records while making loans…”
Microfinance options
Some microfinance institutions in Cambodia allow borrowers to have a land title (only an ID card is needed) to borrow, but generally very small and interest rates are outrageously high.
For example, Amret Microfinance only makes small loans – a maximum amount of $500 per person, and some people cannot even get the $500, said the company’s deputy chief of credit Rom Ratha. Interest rates range from 1.9 to 2.2 percent per month and the loan needs to be paid back within a year at the longest.
AEON Microfinance lends between $100 and $3,000, depending on the customer’s income, and has an interest rate of 2.9% per month, said Puth Leakena, a call center employee at Aeon Microfinance. In most cases, a borrower can get a loan that is about two times their monthly salary, Ms. Leakena said. Foreigners cannot borrow from AEON at all.
Short term borrowing
Even for customers who have land titles, Cambodian banks are unwilling to lend money for long periods of time. Most business bank loans are made for less than five years, Mr. Galliano said – compared to the United States, where banks make mortgage loans that span decades.
The unwillingness to lend for long periods of time affects long-term projects, such as construction, Mr. Galliano said. Because of this, businessmen here often turn to equity rather than debt for financing. Equity means that people try to get business partners to invest into the project with them.
On the positive side, the banking sector in Cambodia has been making some positive steps forward.
The country’s first credit bureau was established about two years ago, according to Galliano. This means that Cambodian banks can now report lenders for not paying back their debt and can avoid making loans to borrowers who had previously defaulted on payments.
“If you default on a loan, you’re going to get reported,” he said. “You can also go after someone in court if they don’t pay.” However, Cambodian banks rely more on the local people’s fear of “losing face,” or having their reputation destroyed, Mr. Galliano said. There are a few special cases in which it might be possible for a borrower to get money from a Cambodian bank without a land title.
Some case examples of getting a loan without a title
- At Canadia Bank, which has a construction company partner, a borrower can get a loan without a land title only if he or she purchases a condominium or an apartment through the company’s own housing project, said housing loan officer Chhean Chankhyra.
- Foreign Trade Bank can make a loan using the borrower’s fixed deposit as collateral. If the customer has a savings account in the bank but does not wish to withdraw money and lose the interest, the bank can make a loan, as long as the amount loaned is less than what the customer already has in his or her savings account, said loan officer Meng Sengkry.
- Anthony Galliano, an American banker who works in Cambodia, said a taxi company once obtained a loan from ABA Bank using its taxi cabs as collateral.
