AUCTION A LAST RESORT - PM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun

Razak said today auctioning of houses would only be carried out as a last resort

after all efforts to recover the loans have been exhausted.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said consumers however could

contact Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) if financial institutions were moving to

auction their houses without giving them the opportunities to settle or

restructure their loans.

"Auction is a way provided by the legal system to ensure loans are managed

properly," he said in his written reply to M. Manogaran (DAP-Teluk Intan) at the

Dewan Rakyat today.

Najib said if auction was done away with, it would make it difficult for the

consumers to find financial institutions which were willing to give out housing

loans.

Those who ran into problems servicing their loans could contact the

financial institutions to restructure or reschedule their loans to reduce the

monthly instalments, he said.

They could also contact BNM''s counselling and credit management agency to

obtain credit counselling and advice on loan restructuring, he added.

-- BERNAMA

ZUZ HK JS