32nd IUHF World Congress 2024
The 32nd IUHF World Congress brought together housing and housing finance experts, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders from around the world to discuss the challenges and the way forward for the housing and housing finance sector, and to exchange ideas across two days of sessions in Berlin.
ACASH connection: ACASH's Chairman, Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi, spoke at the Congress in his capacity as Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Union for Housing Finance (APUHF), presenting during the opening technical session on regional developments in housing finance.
Congress Agenda
Day 1 — Wednesday, 18 September
Lunch, followed by the opening session and welcoming remarks from Dr. Rolf Bösinger (State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction, Germany), Renu Sud Karnad (President, IUHF, India), and Mark Weinrich (Secretary General, IUHF, Germany).
Session 1 — Regional developments in housing finance and the economy
- Christian König — Managing Director, European Federation of Building Societies, Germany
- Jose Luis Ventura — President, Uniapravi, Dominican Republic
- Edward Seiler — Associate Vice President for Housing Economics, Mortgage Bankers Association, USA
- Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi — Secretary General, Asia Pacific Union for Housing Finance
- Johnstone Kaila Oltetia — Director, African Union for Housing Finance & CEO/MD, Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company
Session 2 — Savings systems for housing
- Grégoire Naacke — Director, Observatoire de l'Epargne Européenne, France
- Lyazzat Ibragimova — CEO, Otbasy Bank, Kazakhstan
- Bénédicte Hinschberger — Project Manager, urbaMonde, France
- Mucahid Karabalik — Board Member, Birevim, Türkiye
Session 3 — Housing vulnerable groups
- Teija Ojankoski — CEO, Y-Säätiö, Finland
- Sorcha Edwards — Secretary General, Housing Europe, Belgium
- Jorge Yarza — President, REIT Investment Fund, Mexico
The evening concluded with a dinner on the rooftop of the German parliament.
Day 2 — Thursday, 19 September
Session 4 — Natural disaster prevention, preparedness, and mitigation
- Hiroyuki Shibatani — International Affairs Group, Japan Housing Finance Agency
- Roman Hohl — Senior Product Portfolio Manager, Swiss Re, Switzerland
- Bénédicte Hinschberger — Project Manager, urbaMonde, France/Senegal
- Laura Grelet — Associate Principal, Miyamoto, France
Session 5 — Resolving the affordability and informal housing challenge
- Gantulga Badamkhatan — CEO, Mongolian Mortgage Corporation
- Heliantopo — Director of Securitization and Financing, SMF, Indonesia
- Mudassir Khan — CEO, Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company
- Ilimbek Bektenaliev — Board Member, Elet Capital, Kyrgyzstan
- Pablo López — Senior Executive & Housing Coordinator, CAF, Argentina
- Kim Laane — Business Developer, Easy Building Concepts BV, Netherlands
Session 6 — Green housing and green mortgages
- Luca Bertalot — Secretary General, EMF-ECBC, Belgium
- Maria Luisa M. Favila — VP of Securitization Group, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Philippines
- Glen Jordan — CEO, Empowa, Netherlands
Session 7 — Security of mortgage lending and structures of mortgage funding
- Tim Lassen — Management Board Member & Head of Cover Assets, The German Pfandbrief Banks
- Claudia Eloy — Housing Finance Consultant, Brazil
The Venue
The Congress was hosted at Humboldt Carré, a historic building dating to 1901 located on Gendarmenmarkt in the heart of Berlin. Combining architectural heritage with modern event facilities, the venue is regarded as one of the leading conference and corporate event locations in Germany.
Source: International Union for Housing Finance (housingfinance.org)