OREANDA-NEWS. November 20, 2009. Vnesheconombank’s (VEB’s) Supervisory Board made a decision to expand the program of financing mortgage lending through using pension funds under the Bank’s management, VEB Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev told journalists after the Bank’s Supervisory Board meeting.

“A substantial part of about 470 billion rubles under VEB’s current management might be used to finance mortgage lending”, said V. Dmitriev.

According to him, VEB is expected to receive funds from the Russian Pension Fund in the first quarter of 2010. As a result, according to VEB’s Chairman, the total amount of pension funds under the Bank’s management would be 690 billion rubles.

“Taking into account limitations on investing funds in certain types of bonds, that is, 70% of one issue (in this case mortgage bonds) and no more than 20% of the total investment portfolio, we believe that the amount of mortgage lending would be significantly increased.

Moreover, he said the Bank’s Supervisory Board had also considered an issue of financing mortgage lending through using incomes generated by VEB through using financial resources of the National Wealth Fund.

V. Dmitriev said that through financing mortgage lending by VEB, interest rates on mortgage could be reduced and credit periods could be increased.