Region's first GCC Mortgage Master Class kicks-off

The event, held at the Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, facilitated by Mr R Lakshamanan, Chief Executive Officer of Sakana and guest speaker Mr. Mungo Dunnett, Chairman of Mungo Dunnett Associates, aims to provide and promote regional and international professional knowledge and best practices in the mortgage market.

Several topics are being discussed at the Master Class, including the importance of understanding the mortgage bank model, essential tools for managing the recession and mortgage specializations such as off-plan financing and Islamic mortgages. The presenters also detailed the key essential skills for building a model mortgage bank: operations, product, risk, customer service and distribution.

Mr. R. Lakshmanan, Chief Executive Officer, Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions, said:

"We are delighted to play host to the 1st GCC Mortgage Master Class in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and in fact in the region. It is our pleasure to be associated with Mungo Dunnett Associates in bringing to the region experts in the mortgage industry to share their professional knowledge through this Master Class."

"In keeping with Sakana's vision to be a catalyst for the prosperity of the housing sector including the mortgage market and in line with its mission of being the market leader in the mortgage industry, we have taken an extra step by hosting this event notwithstanding the gloomy backdrop of the world-wide economic crisis. The carefully tailored agenda outlined several topics and highlighted reasons to perceive 2009 as an opportunity to find capital in the current climate, address real business needs and build a sustainable mortgage bank," he added.

"Bahrain's current residential mortgage market is highly competitive with more than a dozen players both conventional and Islamic. As per the recent Central Bank's report, outstanding personal loans secured by property mortgage were approximately BD327m in March of this year. The total personal lending which includes mortgage was approximately BD1.65bn. Based on estimates, the residential mortgage size currently stands approximately at 5% GDP. However, the penetration level is low compared to a sample of countries in Europe with similar GDP per capita. We believe the market is expected to reach BD700m in the next few years," he concluded.

Mr. Mungo Dunnett, Chairman Mungo Dunnett Associates, said, "We believe the current economic situation with its challenges has provided the right situation to share and communicate our expertise in the mortgage industry."

The Master Class is being attended by professionals from banking & finance, real estate and consulting industries and will conclude tomorrow.

Mr. Dunnett is a leading industry commentator who runs "The Mortgage Lenders' Forum", a leading 'best practice' group for mortgage lenders in Europe. He also speaks at numerous international conferences, and specialises in introducing 'expert practitioner' knowledge to banking operations requiring rapid development and revenue generation.