NHB nod for such a move will hit borrowers looking to gain from falling rates The National Housing Bank is considering allowing lenders to levy prepayment penalty on housing loan customers who transfer the outstanding amount to another lender in the first two years of the loan tenure, a dampener for borrowers wanting to make the most of falling interest rates. Sriram Kalyanaraman, chairman of National Housing Bank, the regulator for housing finance companies (HFCs), believes that home loan `shopping' could lead to risks building up in the system as banks and HFCs are vying for the same customers to expand their market share. “I think there should be some form of lock-in for the customers in the initial days, say 18 to 24 months, before they are allowed to transfer loans,“ said Kalyanaraman. “CompaniesHFCsbanks are trying to woo customers with lower interest rates, which is good for customers, but there could be a bubble due to everyone concentrating on the same segment and