FMBN urges primary mortgage banks to harmonise their interest rates

The managing director/chief executive of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has called on Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) to harmonise their interest rates in order to conform to the laid down uniform underwriting standards. He also enjoined PMBs to spread their branches to cover the entire country for easy access of mortgages by Nigerians. He stated this in Abuja during the monthly meeting of FMBN with Mortgage Bankers’ Association of Nigeria (MBAN) and Real Estate Developers’ Association of Nigeria (REDAN) on ways to address issues bordering on housing acquisition and mortgages.

Dangiwa commended the experts for sustaining the forum even as he pleaded with members of MBAN to minimize the Turn Around Time (TAT) and refrain from delaying disbursements to developers once approved by FMBN. He vowed to sanction defaulting PMBs adding that REDAN should produce affordable housing models and avoid unilateral changing of building designs, specifications and scope.

Also speaking, the president of MBAN, Mr Adeniyi Akinlusi assured that MBAN would key into the vision of FMBN, just as he commended the bank for unveiling uniform underwriting standards for the industry. He advocated for non-interest mortgages especially for victims of insurgency in the North East for reconstruction of houses destroyed by Boko Haram.

Akinlusi urged members to consider the enormity of the housing gap and work towards bridging the deficit. On his part, president of REDAN, Rev. Ugochukwu Chime expressed satisfaction with the leadership of FMBN which he described as responsible and responsive.

He sought the integration of Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Land Administrators into the forum, enjoining members to fully implement the provisions of the National Housing Policy (NHP). Chime underscored the importance of security in the real estate business adding that without adequate security that the sector cannot perform optimally.

He eulogised the initiative of FMBN in introducing SMS alert to National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors, describing it as ‘a game changer that speaks well about the transparency of the current leadership of the bank’. In a related event, the MD of FMBN, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa noted that the bank is facing considerable challenges particularly in the area of recapitalisation.

He stated this when he received members of the Infrastructure Policy Commission (IPC) of Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) who were on a courtesy visit to the bank.  He pleaded with the group to assist the bank in tackling the issue since FMBN is a social housing agency that targets the provision of affordable housing to over 80 percent of the population, comprising both low and medium income earners.

Dangiwa described FMBN as the last succour of the common man through its affordable mortgages and construction finance saying that it’s the only bank that issues individual mortgages loans to National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors at an affordable interest rate of 6 percent across the country.

“We have the FMBN renovation loans with liberalised conditions for easy access of Nigerians and the rent-to-own product which will be launched soon is under development,” Dangiwa said.

He noted that the bank issued construction finance loans to developers, cooperative societies and housing co-operations so as to increase affordable housing stocks in the country which he believed would reduce the housing deficit.

He lamented that the bank is facing considerable challenges particularly in the area of recapitalisation even as he pleaded with the group to assist in tackling the issue.

While noting that FMBN is a social housing agency that targets the low and medium income earners which constitute over 80 percent of the population, he assured that the bank is ready to partner with the group mutually.

He said: “Provision of affordable housing and mortgage finance at 6 percent interest rates has been our business focus and  it will also increase the financial inclusive of the group.’’

Credit: Leadership