Accra, Jan. 18, GNA - Ben Adu Asamoah, a worker at Multimedia Broadcasting on Friday won the first prize of a two-bedroom expandable house under the Home Finance Company (HFC) Bank's Homesave Account Promotion.

The second and third prizes of 5,000 GH cedis deposit and a 100 percent mortgage loan facility went to Awotwe Bosomfi and Esther A. Mensah respectively out of the 68,000 entries. The draw, the second in the series was launched in May 2007 as a means of further promoting the Bank's goal of homeownership by making valued customers become home owners.

Customers were required to deposit a minimum of 500 GH cedis for s six month period with the bank after which the draw is organised for the first, second and third prizes winners. Explaining the rationale for the draw, Mr Akwete Akita, Executive Director of HFC said land tenure, low incomes, relative high cost of building materials and lack of mortgage finance in the country were some of the factors making owning a house unfavourable and difficult. "Today with stable macroeconomic environment culminating in favourable interest rate regime, the homeownership capacity for every income-earning Ghanaian has been enhanced.

He said besides the bank's own products it was partnering Government to offer public sector workers an opportunity to owe their own houses through the Public Sector Housing Finance Scheme. According to Mr. Akita the Homesave promotion could serve as an appropriate investment vehicle through which capital could be accumulated to meet the requisite down payment to benefit from the Scheme.

He urged both existing customers and prospective customers to always endeavour to take advantage of the numerous benefits the HFC Bank Homesave Account offers.

Mr. Charles Martinson, General Manager of the Bank said the buying a house was life time decision which required regular savings of which the promotion was aimed at encouraging. Some of the benefits of the Homesave Account, he mentioned included, higher interest rates compared to prevailing market rates to customers, access to regular information on residential properties and qualification to a mortgage loan with a 25 percent saving of the cost of property a person wished to buy.