THE National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) will meet with first-time home buyers and customers for any inquiries regarding its services during the upcoming MyRumah Property showcase organised by the New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd.
PTPTN senior general menager Abdul Ghaffar Yusop said they were looking forward to assist home buyers with a bad Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) record to improve their credit situation.
He said PTPTN will set up a booth at the showcase which will be held at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara until Sunday.
Abdul Ghaffar said in March this year, PTPTN launched the #BolehBincang campaign to encourage defaulters to negotiate with PTPTN on settling their loans.
Abdul Ghaffar said out of 1.9 million borrowers, there were about 423,000 borrowers who have yet to repay a single cent.
This involved a sum of about RM2.8 billion.
“We don’t want them to be intimidated by PTPTN as their repayment is crucial to sustain financial assistance for future generations,” he said.
Abdul Ghaffar urged the borrowers to come and speak to PTPTN about their financial situation.
“Upon reviewing the necessary documents on their financial situation, PTPTN will request for them to pay an upfront payment of considerable amount and restructure their debt,” he said.
He said the loan repayment period can be extended until the borrowers were 60 years old.
“The repayment will be done via salary deduction or direct debit. PTPTN will deduct between six to eight per cent of their salaries every month,” he said.
Abdul Ghaffar said after the negotiation process, PTPTN will issue a loan reschedule letter to offer a new loan agreement.
He said this letter will be issued on-the-spot to borrowers who come to the MyRumah event.
“The bank may use the letter for the purpose of offering financial assistance to home buyers,” he said.
He said with the new loan agreement, CCRIS will create a new record for the borrowers.
However, he said, if the borrowers made a full settlement, the previous CCRIS record will be cleared within seven working days.
Abdul Ghaffar said under the 2017 Budget, a 15 per cent discount will be given to borrowers who make a full settlement until December 31, this year.
He said they were entitled to a 10 per cent discount if they settle at least 50 per cent payment of their total outstanding balance on their loan.
Besides that, a 10 per cent discount will also be given on the monthly amount for those who start repaying via salary deduction or direct debit.
He said since PTPTN launched the #BolehBincang campaign in March, the collection has been overwhelming.
“For this year PTPTN has collected about RM2.7 billion between January and August compared to 1.96 billion within the same period last year (2016),” he said.
He said PTPTN is targetting to collect RM4 billion a year to provide loans for about 600,000 students every year.
He said out of about RM19 billion of outstanding loans, about RM12 billion have been collected so far.
“The loan will be disbursed to about 400,000 existing students and 200,000 new students every year,” he said.
Abdul Ghaffar said besides getting more people to repay their loans, they are also targeting to encourage more parents to open up savings accounts for their children.
He said parents can start to open the SSPN-i Plus savings account from the time their child is one-day old.
“Among the benefits to be enjoyed include an attractive dividend, takaful coverage and tax exemption,” he said.
He said besides providing an avenue to save money consistently, this will also reduce their financial burden when it is time for their children to pursue tertiary studies.
“Should anything happen to the depositors, their children will get the takaful benefit thus ensuring that their education funds are available,” he said.
Abdul Ghaffar said as a house is a shelter to a family, education savings are a security for the future as an education is the key for a brighter life.
This is the second year PTPTN is participating in the MyRumah event.
He said during the last event, the response was overwhelming and many first-time house buyers aged between 25 and 35 came to he PTPTN booth at the event.
First-time home buyers and investors can expect to gain informative property insights during the MyRumah Property showcase.
Abdul Ghaffar said PTPTN will have a slot on Friday between 7pm and 8pm to speak on buying a first home with ease of mind (Nikmati Rumah Pertama Anda Tanpa Gusar).
He said the speaker will speak on settling the outstanding loan and helping first-time home buyers.
More than 10,000 visitors are expected to throng the three-day event which will be open to public from 10am to 10pm.