A word from GRUH's Chairman

A word from GRUH's Chairman

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Mr. Keki M Mistry
Chairman – GRUH

2011 is an important milestone for us at GRUH.

It is 25 eventful years since we established this organization which has rapidly changed the lives of thousands of families in rural India. This landmark year seems like a good time to pause and reflect on the journey travelled so far.

Since GRUH was the first specialised rural housing finance company in India, the initial years were spent understanding the income patterns and needs of the rural population. Based on this information, we experimented with and made modifications to the structure and design of our loan products to suit the requirements of the rural clientele. Unfortunately, issues such as low priority for up-gradation of shelter and a strong dependence on agricultural income – which in turn depended heavily on the vagaries of monsoon – kept the growth momentum low for GRUH in the first decade.

It is noteworthy however, that even in the midst of such challenges, GRUH persisted with its conviction and spread its network to Maharashtra and later to the three other adjoining states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The expansion into newer territories coupled with Gujarat’s growing economy, has helped GRUH to step up its growth in terms of volume of business in the last 7 years. During this period, GRUH witnessed a CAGR of 28% in disbursements and 27% in loan assets. Apart from consistent growth in loan assets, NPAs have been maintained at the level of 1%. The healthy growth in loan assets along with efficient recoveries has enabled GRUH to post profits of 32% CAGR over the past 7 years.

I therefore feel quite satisfied with the performance of GRUH and I take this opportunity to thank all the shareholders for reposing faith in our endeavours. I would also like to thank all the staff members of the GRUH family for their unstinted commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm. They have persisted and have delivered their best under the given circumstances. I also extend my appreciation to the National Housing Bank, other lending institutions, depositors and home loan customers for their wholehearted support towards GRUH.

Here’s wishing GRUH a bright future ahead!