The Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) provided loans worth Sh3 billion to Absa Bank Kenya last year for further lending to homebuyers, according to reports from the listed bank.

According to the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed lender, the loan was received in two tranches, the first for Sh2 billion with a maturity date of 2035 and the second for Sh1 billion with a maturity date of 2031.

Apart from KCB’s Sh1.8 billion loan to residences last year, Absa’s KMRC loan is the second-largest to a single financier. In addition to other things, Absa has worked with housing developers like Acorn Holdings to provide affordable student housing.

The company reported an after-tax profit of Sh14.6 billion for the fiscal year that ended in December 2022, a 34% rise from the prior year. Customer loans increased over time by 21% to Sh284 billion.

Mortgage refinancer data shows that loans advanced in 2018 were worth at Sh6.8 billion, up from Sh1.3 billion in 2021, demonstrating the corporation’s increased capacity to finance low-cost homes after securing larger resources.

The refinancier’s asset size has grown from Sh9.8 billion to Sh21.4 billion, a fourfold rise. KMRC provides mortgage lenders with capital at a 5% annual interest rate, enabling them to offer home loans at single-digit interest rates.

The refinancer offers long-term financing in the form of loans to primary lenders like banks, enabling Kenyans to get low-cost home loans.

One of the new loans is a Sh1.4 billion corporate bond that was issued in February of last year to diversify the KMRC’s funding sources away from equity financing.