The Mortgage Corporation will expand its Mortgage Insurance Program by increasing the maximum loan-to-value ratio from the current limit of 90 percent to 95 percent, the corporation said Wednesday.

Mortgage loans on both completed properties and those under construction are eligible for coverage up to a loan-to-value ratio of 95 percent for a maximum loan size of 5 million Hong Kong dollars (641,000 US dollars) and a maximum loan tenor of 30 years,it said.

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Henry Tang, the corporation's chairman, said he is pleased to see the corporation continues to play a useful role in ensuring the benefits of mortgage insurance are available to a wide range of eligible home buyers and mortgage lenders.

The corporation's vice chairman, Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Joseph Yam, said that the program creates a win-win scenario as it allows potential home buyers to borrow up to 95 percent of the value of the property and at the same time enables the banks to keep their exposure within the 70 percent loan-to-value level stipulated by the authority.

The Mortgage Corporation's profit after tax for the six months ended June 30 was 355.3 million Hong Kong dollars (45.6 million USdollars), up 135.5 percent on the same period last year.

Source: Xinhua