First edition of the Ecobank Housing Fair has opened at the Aviation Social Centre in Accra. The fair forms part of the bank's resolve to help in solving the country’s 1.7 million housing deficit.

The fair is in a series of measures by Ecobank Ghana to aid prospective clients with affordable housing services in the banking and finance industry.

Head of Legal, Human Resource and Compliance of Ecobank, Morgan F. Asiedu said the bank would be displaying mortgages at highly competitive interest rates to all working customers.

He said Ecobank remains committed to ensuring that Ghanaians receive the best financial packages to aid them get the best offers to secure a home.

Mr Asiedu, “The task of providing good accommodation for the nation’s working class is certainly enormous and cannot be borne by government alone; it requires the strong participation of the private sector.”

He said, “This is why we at Ecobank have taken it upon ourselves to create this platform that brings together Real Estate Companies, Value Chain Supliers, potential home owners and other patrons of residential properties,” he revealed.

Speaking to JoyBusiness, head of personal banking for Ecobank Ghana and Anglophone Africa, Shirley Dontoh, said mortgages available to prospective clients would be the lowest in Ghana thus pegged at 27.9 percent.

Government would have to build 190,000 to 200,000 units each year for the next 10 years to bridge the gap.

The fair has seen over 20 exhibitors and several captains of industry in the housing sector are expected to attend.

The exhibition ends on Friday.