This course introduces the concept of Related-Party & Benami Property Risk within the Housing Finance Credit framework. It focuses on understanding the risks arising from undisclosed related-party interests or properties held in benami (proxy) names, which can obscure true ownership, distort credit assessment, and increase fraud and enforceability risks.
Learners will explore key assessment dimensions such as identifying hidden relationships influencing credit decisions and outcomes, validating ownership structures against property valuation, and ensuring adherence to regulatory compliance requirements, with an emphasis on independent validation and well-documented rationale. The course highlights how misrepresentation of ownership, circular transactions, or proxy holdings can lead to conflicts of interest, inflated valuations, and legal complications during enforcement. It also distinguishes related-party and benami property risk from broader portfolio diversification strategies, emphasizing its role in detecting asset-level fraud and intent risk rather than managing portfolio-level exposure distribution.
By the end of the course, participants will understand how to identify, assess, and mitigate such risks in practice, particularly within Fraud, Misrepresentation, and Intent Risk. The course also emphasizes the role of the credit analyst in executing risk assessments, maintaining robust documentation, and flagging exceptions for managerial review within Housing Finance Credit files, including adherence to verification standards, documentation quality, and escalation protocols aligned with credit committee priorities.