Tunis: Since the new social loan formula has come into effect on February 1, 98% of the loan applications filed with the National Pension and Social Insurance Fund (CNRPS) are for personal loans, said CNRPS Chief Executive Officer Taoufik Katrou. In a televised interview with TAP, Katrou pointed out that the fund has so far received 20,000 applications for personal loans against 70 applications for car loans and less than 50 for home loans. He recalled that under the new social loan formula, the CNRPS adherents can obtain a personal loan of TND 25 thousand, repayable over 3 years instead of one year previously with a fixed interest rate of 8.25%. The loan is provided to a CNRPS adherent for at least two years instead of three years before, Katrou added. As regards the car loans, under the new loan formula each family that has been affiliated with the fund for three years (against five years before) can receive a single loan, the official explained, adding that the loan is capped at TND 50 thousand against TND 10 thousand before, repayable over five years with an interest rate of 10%. The loan can be used to buy a used car provided that the date of first entry into service does not exceed two years, he specified. As for home loans, the CNRPS CEO said that they will now be capped at TND 100 thousand compared with TND 15 thousand before. However, the implementation of this new social loan formula requires the revision of some laws on home loan granting, he added. The home loan can be used to buy a new house, to complete the construction of a house or to acquire a lot of land. It is repayable over 20 years with an interest rate of 6.75%. Katrou underlined that the fund does not intend to make any profit from the allocation of these loans as it is targeting the social assistance of its adherents, specifying that the financial income from these loans will be reinvested in the new loan system in order to be able to meet the highest possible number of applications. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse