New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- PNB Housing Finance is targeting higher-than-industry growth in the affordable and emerging-market segments to support its margins amid stiff competition from banks in the prime segment, newly appointed managing director and CEO Ajai Kumar Shukla told Mint in an interview. The lender also plans to scale up its loans against property and commercial loans portfolios to bolster margins, he added.

To drive this growth, the housing financier is focussing on several levers such as growing its branch and distribution network, adding more manpower for these segments, and investing in digital channels, Shukla said.

"We will grow faster than the industry in the affordable segment because we have the scope, the distribution a...