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The housing deficit in Argentina is estimated to affect 6 million out of the 24 million households nationally. Macro-economic turmoil has contributed to this imbalance in two ways. First, the continuous inflation and currency depreciation made real estate a refuge investment protecting the capital value of investors. Second, rapid inflation acts a strong deterrent to the provision of long term finance and in particular mortgages. The government overhauled the public housing assistance policy by launching a 2016-2019 integrated housing and habitat plan (plan integral de vivienda y habitat). This plan aims to stimulate the production, or to provide one million housing solutions through two programs: a neighborhood improvement program targeting informal settlements, and a credit-linked subsidy program, solucion casa propria, through which up-front subsidies are granted to first time home buyers who contract mortgages, thus leveraging the impact of public intervention with bank credit. The broad prohibition of indexation has for a long time stunted the provision of long term, finance. To successfully grow the mortgage market, banks need funding and tools to manage interest rate and liquidity risks - that is, in the absence of significant derivative markets, funding from the capital market. The eventual development of a mortgage bond market based on housing loan portfolios, will help to increase the supply of stable long term funding instruments.

Access to Finance --- Capital Markets --- Capital Markets and Capital Flows --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Housing Finance --- Urban Development --- Urban Housing

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This paper examines the state of reverse mortgage markets in selected countries around the world and considers the potential benefits and risks of these products from a financial inclusion and economic benefit standpoint. Despite potentially increasing demand from aging societies - combined with limited pension income - a series of market failures constrain supply and demand. The paper discusses a series of market failures on the supply side, such as adverse selection, moral hazard, and the costly regulation established to address these problems, leading to only a small number of providers, even in developed markets. Demand-side constraints are equally relevant, in particular high non-interest costs, abuse concerns, and the inability of reverse mortgages to cover key risks facing the elderly, particularly health and elder care. In developing countries, constraints are likely to be even higher than in advanced economies, due to high transaction costs and lack of consumer knowledge and protection. The enabling conditions for such markets to develop are outlined, along with examples of regulatory oversight. The paper concludes that these still seem to be largely products of last resort rather than well-considered purchases as part of good retirement planning.

Aging --- Consumer Protection --- Finance and Development --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Inclusion --- Housing Finance --- Pension --- Pensions and Retirement Systems --- Reverse Mortgage --- Social Protections and Labor

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Economic activity in Kenya remained robust in 2016. For the third consecutive year economic activity in Kenya picked-up, reaching an estimated 5-year high of 5.9 percent in 2016, once again placing Kenya among the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya's growth momentum in 2016 was supported by a stable macroeconomic environment, low oil prices, favorable harvest in the first half of 2016, rebound in tourism, strong remittance inflows, and an ambitious government infrastructure drive to relieve supply side constraints. Near term GDP growth is expected to dip on account of headwinds, however over the medium term GDP growth should pick-up. Given headwinds from the ongoing drought, weak credit growth, and the pick-up in oil prices, GDP growth is expected to decelerate to 5.5 percent in 2017, a 0.5 percentage point mark down from earlierforecasts. However, over the medium term, we expect these headwinds to ease (rains are expected to return to normal in 2017), and together with the projected steady strengthening of the global economy, rebound in tourism, resolution of some of the underlying causes of slow credit growth, and the easing of some supply-side constraints related to the completion of some major infrastructure projects, GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 5.8 percent and 6.1 percent in 2018 and 2019 respectively, consistent with the underlying growth potential of the Kenyan economy.

Economic Growth --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Fiscal & Monetary Policy --- Housing Finance --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Monetary Policy --- Productivity --- Urban Development --- Urban Housing

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The objective of this case study is to document an example of the successful design and implementation of housing micronance (HMF) products by analyzing the approach taken by the First Micronance Bank of Afghanistan (FMFB-A) from 2009 to 2013. This report aims to encourage other lenders to follow suit and offer housing-related loans to low-income earners. It is part of IFC's MENA Micronance Knowledge Management project, which aims to raise awareness among micronanceinstitutions (MFIs) about the importance of risk management, product development, and transformation. FMFB-A was established in 2003 with the mission to reduce poverty and promote nancial inclusion by providing its clients with access to nancial services. Shareholders of FMFB-A are the Aga Khan Agency for Micronance (AKAM), Aga Khan Foundation USA, the German Development Bank (KfW), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). FMFB-A has a nation-widepresence in Afghanistan and serves over 53,000 clients with an outstanding portfolio of 64.5 million dollars. Housing nance accounts for about 17 percent of its total portfolio. FMFB-Ais currently the only MFI in Afghanistan that offers a housing micronance product. FMFB-A implemented a rigorous, albeit exible, approach to the roll-out of its HMF products in Afghanistan. The idea to develop an HMF product at FMFB-A started in 2007 as a response to client demand. Its aim has been to increase access to housing micronance for Afghanistan's low-income households in urban and rural areas. It also sought to improve the quality of housing for this segment by offering construction technical assistance (CTA) services.

Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Housing Finance --- Municipal Financial Management --- Municipal Housing and Land --- Non Bank Financial Institutions --- Urban Development --- Urban Housing

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The response to the January 2010 Haiti earthquake has been in the spotlight ever since the disaster, and a significant number of evaluations and analyses have been disseminated in the years since. This report is intended to help housing and shelter practitioners improve future post-disaster shelter responses and housing recovery programs and the integration between them. The report covers the shelter and housing responses in Haiti, and looks especially at how early decisions about sheltering affected the housing response. The analysis also covers other interrelated topics that heavily affected work on shelter and housing: disaster risk management (DRM), the urban context, and recovery financing.

Conflict and Development --- Disaster Management --- Environment --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Hazard Risk Management --- Housing Finance --- Natural Disasters --- Non Bank Financial Institutions --- Risk Management --- Urban Development