Latest news with #ULI
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Credit score no longer a barrier? ULI aims to simplify and speed up lending
In a major shift that could result in transforming the country's credit ecosystem, the Ministry of Finance is gearing up to roll out the Unified Lending Interface (ULI). This will be a new digital lending system that could eliminate the need for traditional credit score checks before sanctioning personal loans or credit cards, reported NDTV. The move is spearheaded by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), it aims to create a more inclusive, transparent and seamless lending ecosystem by integrating data, policy and technology. ULI is conceptualised to streamline the loan approval and application process. Thus making credit accessible to a broader segment of the masses, including but not limited to small businesses, farmers and those lacking a strong credit score. Currently lending institutions rely heavily on credit bureaus such as CIBIL, CRIF High Mark, Equifax among others to assess an applicant's repayment ability. Still with ULI lenders will be able to evaluate creditworthiness using alternative data such as utility payments, GST returns and other similar government records making it a clear game-changer for underserved aspirational borrowers. The Finance Ministry recently confirmed that top officials from DFS, RBI and various government departments met to improvise and accelerate ULI's nationwide implementation. Financial institutions have been asked to review adoption progress on a monthly basis, and those yet to join the ULI network have been urged to act in swift fashion. Consent based data sharing. This ensures transparency and privacy. Standardised APIs permit seamless integration across lending platforms. Evaluation of non-traditional financial behaviour, boosts credit availability for underserved segments. Lower operational costs, streamlines backend processes for lending institutions. If executed in seamless fashion and successfully, ULI could significantly bring down the dependency on credit scores, boost transparency and extend formal credit to segments earlier considered unbankable. For aspirational borrowers, this means easier, faster access to personal loans, without the stress of a low or nearly no credit history. As the nation's fintech sector continues to evolve and grow, ULI could prove to be the most impactful credit innovation yet, redefining how risk assessment is carried out in the lending ecosystem.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
No More CIBIL Checks? New Credit Initiative Promises Faster Loans, Wider Access
The process of checking CIBIL scores before approving loans may soon change. The Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the Ministry of Finance, is working to scale up the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), a new digital lending system that could reduce reliance on traditional credit scores. Currently, banks and financial institutions primarily depend on Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL) scores to assess an applicant's creditworthiness. However, with ULI, the aim is to create a more streamlined and inclusive lending process. To ensure faster implementation, the DFS has instructed all financial institutions to review ULI adoption on a monthly basis. Those that haven't yet joined the system have been told to take immediate steps in that direction. According to an statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, on June 23, DFS Secretary M Nagaraju and Reserve Bank of India officials met with representatives from various central and state ministries to discuss the nationwide rollout of ULI. The goal is to make loan processing faster, more efficient, and less dependent on traditional credit bureaus. If implemented successfully, ULI could bring a major shift in how loans are approved in India, making the system more accessible to a wider range of borrowers. What is Unified Lending Interface (ULI)? According to the Ministry of Finance, the Unified Lending Interface is a digital platform designed to simplify lending processes by integrating technology, data, and policy. It enables lenders to access high-quality, verified data from government ministries and departments, facilitating faster and more inclusive credit delivery. Key Features of ULI Frictionless Credit Delivery: Streamlines loan disbursement processes, reducing time and effort required for credit appraisal. Consent-Based Data Sharing: Borrowers can grant lenders permission to access their financial and non-financial records, expediting loan processing. Standardised APIs: Enables seamless data exchange between financial institutions, eliminating extensive technical integration. Alternative Data Evaluation: Uses non-traditional data sources, such as utility bill payments and GST records, to assess creditworthiness. Benefits of ULI Increased Financial Inclusion: Brings rural borrowers and small businesses into the formal credit ecosystem. Improved Transparency: Promotes transparency in financial transactions, reducing fraud and inefficiencies. Reduced Loan Processing Costs: Automates and digitises the lending process, minimising paperwork and operational costs. Enhanced Credit Access: Simplifies the loan process for MSMEs and farmers, providing timely access to credit.
Independent Singapore
6 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
New report says HDB model inspires other governments in the region
SINGAPORE: The 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Home Attainability Index report highlights how home unattainability is a problem across the globe. Housing & Development Board (HDB) homes in Singapore, however, together with flats in Melbourne, are singled out for their rent and purchase attainability, amid other cities where both renting and buying are beyond the reach of many. 'Singapore is the only capital city to offer attainable homes for purchase,' the report says. Moreover, it also shows how the HDB model of the city-state has inspired other governments, calling the ability of citizens to buy apartments at a fraction of open market rates one of Singapore's 'notable successes.' 'Across all years of the Home Attainability Index, HDB apartments have been the most attainable route to home ownership in a major Asian city, with prices consistently under five times median income. HDB apartments are also significant because of their ubiquity; they house 80% of Singapore's population. Private sector apartments and houses are typically (but not exclusively) owned by wealthy Singaporeans and rented by expats.' However, the report underlined that private homes are priced at 16.9 times the annual median household income, for an average price of US$1.7 million (S$2.18 million), making them the most expensive in the region. It noted that other countries have launched programmes that appear to follow the HDB model, including Malaysia and Thailand. The Residenci Wilayah scheme in the city-state's nearest neighbour also gives people the chance to buy homes at prices below market rates. In Thailand, meanwhile, an initiative called 'Homes for Thais' uses land belonging to the state to offer people properties with a 99-year lease. The report pointed out, however, that in countries where the government does not have the same amount of control over freehold land, conducting this type of programme is much more of a challenge than it is for the HDB. 'Meanwhile, in some jurisdictions, there are objections to the government essentially controlling the majority of the housing market. However, the most significant objection to similar schemes is the risk that they might reduce the value of existing stock, a significant factor in countries where the majority of people own their own home,' the report adds. The report even asks if Hong Kong should follow in Singapore's footsteps when it comes to homeownership. Hong Kong's Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) lets citizens purchase homes on the basis of shared ownership, where the government has a 30% stake and citizens pay 70% of the property's value. This went on from the late 1970s to 2002 and was resumed again, albeit in a limited fashion, in 2011, although a number of think tanks in the city believe that public housing tenants should be permitted to buy the housing units they rent at a subsidised rate. /TISG Read also: S$407 million boost for HDB flats, major upgrades to enhance living conditions for thousands
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
RBI reviews ULI rollout with lenders amid slow adoption
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) leadership on Wednesday met officials of banks and non-banking finance companies to discuss the way to boost lending under the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), which is positioned as the UPI for loans. M. Nagaraju, secretary, department of financial services, and RBI deputy governor, T. Rabi Sankar, were present at the meeting. The two officials had also met last month in New Delhi to discuss scaling up ULI, which is a digital public infrastructure in the lending space and aims to unlock critical financial, non-financial and alternative data for lenders to enable informed credit decisions. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Others Project Management MBA Leadership Technology PGDM Data Science Finance Operations Management Digital Marketing Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Design Thinking Data Analytics healthcare CXO Public Policy Data Science Degree Cybersecurity others Management Product Management MCA Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 months IIM Lucknow SEPO - IIML CHRO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT-ISB Transforming HR with Analytics & AI India Starts on undefined Get Details "The regulator wanted to know whether ULI is facing issues, and how to resolve them," said a person aware of the discussions. "Some lenders told the RBI that they already have the technology stack and tie-ups in place for different loan products and, hence, the integrating ULI has been slow." The person cited above also attributed a slow start to regulatory scrutiny on the type of instruments that would have been at the vanguard of the ULI, developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. "Adoption also was lower because of the overall caution among lenders, especially in the unsecured segment," said the person aware of the discussions. "Incidentally, the early use case was around small-ticket personal loans , which came under regulatory scrutiny." Live Events More than 600,000 loans amounting to ₹27,000 crore have been disbursed using the ULI platform until early-December 2024, RBI data showed. According to industry executives, the sources of lead for lenders in ULI was mainly surrounding personal loans and unsecured small-business lending, both of which dried out because of cautious lending. "Some lenders also tried supply chain financing via ULI. But that too did not take up. Lending is a growing market, hence ULI will also pick up gradually. However, there needs to be the establishment of a use case," said a senior official with a Mumbai-based NBFC. At least 36 lenders, including various banks and NBCs have been onboarded till December 2024. These lenders are using more than 50 data services including, authentication and verification services, land records data from six states, satellite service, property search, dairy insights and document verification, to gain customer information.
Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Singapore one of the few major cities in Asia-Pacific region to offer attainable homes: Report
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The median price of an HDB flat in 2024 was US$439,348 (S$562,402), down from US$461,289 in 2023, the report said. SINGAPORE - Singapore is one of the few major cities in the Asia-Pacific region to offer attainable homes for purchase, a new report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) has found. The ULI, a global non-profit research and education organisation, considers home ownership attainable when the ratio of median home prices to median annual household income is below 5. The price-to-income ratio of Housing Board flats in 2024 was 4.3, down from 4.7 in 2023. In 2022, the price-to-income ratio of HDB flats was 3.7. Of the 51 market segments studied in the report on home attainability across the Asia-Pacific region, published on July 9, only three major cities had homes with a price-to-income ratio of 5 and below in 2024. These comprised HDB flats in Singapore, and apartments in Melbourne in Australia and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The median price of an HDB flat in Singapore was US$439,348 (S$561,900) in 2024, down from US$461,289 in 2023. The report did not specify if the price factored in HDB grants. Across the cities tracked by the ULI, median annual household income was highest in Singapore at US$101,666. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'pore boosts nuclear viability, safety research with new institute and $66m in additional funding Singapore NDP 2025: Leopard tank transmission fault identified, vehicle to resume role in mobile column Singapore Over 12,000 lower-income households to receive $60 in transport vouchers by end-July World Trump nominates 'alpha male' influencer to be ambassador to Malaysia Business CEO pay: At Singapore's top companies, whose pay went up and who saw a drop? Business Popiah king Sam Goi makes $123.5 million offer to buy rest of PSC Singapore Youth who performed lewd act on cat ordered to undergo probation Life Singer Jacky Cheung adds 3 more encore concerts in Singapore, bringing total to 6 shows Despite this, Singapore is not the most affordable location for home buying, as apartments in Perth in Australia have a price-to-income ratio of 4.1, the ULI said. But it noted that nearly 80 per cent of the Singapore population live in HDB flats, and only 7.6 per cent of homes in Perth are apartments. No city scored a price-to-income ratio of below 4 in 2024. The ULI said that while the number of HDB flats built has passed 1.2 million units, the pace of development has been 'relatively slow' in recent years, and it remained static during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'This may explain rising prices and falling attainability,' the ULI said. The disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic slowed the construction of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and crimped the supply of public housing here, causing prices to rise. HDB resale prices have been rising continuously on a quarterly basis since the second quarter of 2020. Efforts have been made by the authorities to ramp up housing supply , with the HDB exceeding its target of launching 100,000 BTO flats from 2021 to 2025. It will put up 50,000 units for sale from 2025 to 2027. As for HDB flat rentals, the ULI said the average rent was at an attainable level of 29 per cent of the median monthly household income. The report considers rent to be attainable when it is below 30 per cent of median monthly income. The ULI said that HDB rentals were relatively expensive compared with other Asia-Pacific cities, but they were still considerably cheaper than private homes in Singapore, whose median monthly rents were 43 per cent of median monthly income. Private residential homes in Singapore continued to be the most expensive in the Asia-Pacific for the third year in a row, with an average price of US$1.7 million. The price-to-income ratio for these homes was 16.9. In terms of price per square metre, however, Hong Kong was the most costly private housing market in the region, with an average price of US$16,915 per sq m. Apartments in Hong Kong are smaller on average, at 45 sq m, compared with 109 sq m in Singapore, the report noted. The ULI said that both rents and prices of private homes in Singapore have risen sharply in recent years, but prices have outpaced rents, more than doubling since 2009. Rent for private apartments in Singapore was the most expensive across the cities studied by the ULI, with a median monthly rent of US$3,676. This overtook Hong Kong (US$2,766), as well as other high-cost-of-living cities such as Sydney (US$1,997) and Seoul (US$769).
