Changes in the Housing Financing Fund On March 27th, the government of Iceland decided to divide the HFF´s operations so that the HFF´s main activities would be separated from the financial management related to the Fund´s older loan portfolio. At the same time, it was announced that the Minister was considering merging the activities of the Civil Engineering Agency with the Fund´s main activities in a new institution. Today, December the 17th 2019 the Icelandic parliament, Althing, passed a bill on the Housing and Construction Authority (Parliamentary document 319/2019) and a bill on the processing of assets and liabilities of the HF-fund (ÍL-sjóður) (Parliamentary document 381/2019), which puts into effect this separation in the Financing Fund´s activities and the merger of its main activities and the Civil Engineering Agency’s activities. This legislation is expected to take effect on 31st December 2019.
According to the bill on the Housing and Construction Authority, policy making and research on the housing market, supervision of public housing support and the granting of social housing loans are transferred from the Housing Financing Fund to the new Housing and Construction Agency. This new institution will fall under the Ministry of Social Affairs.
According to the bill on the processing of assets and liabilities of the HF-fund (ÍL-sjóður), all marketable bonds issued by the Housing Financing Fund and its predecessors, together with all general mortgages loans, issued before January 1st, 2013, will remain with the Fund, which will change its name at December 31st 2019 to HF-fund. Furthermore as of December 31st, 2019 the HF-fund will fall under the Ministry of Finance. This change in the Housing Financing fund will not entail any changes in the Fund´s market bonds or their owners.
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