FMBN releases N75.5bn for 3,541 mortgages, others

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria processed and disbursed a total of N75.5bn for 3,541 mortgages and 25,242 home renovation loans in two years.

FMBN’s Managing Director, Ahmed Dangiwa, disclosed this recently in Abuja while assessing results of the bank’s efforts to clear a backlog of housing loan applications by subscribers to the National Housing Fund scheme.

He said, “From 2017 when we came on board to date, we have been able to successfully process and disburse loans totalling N75.5bn. This includes 3,541 mortgages and 25,242 home renovation loans. We have also financed the construction of over 7,286 housing units within this period.”

Dangiwa said the bank was committed to the speedy processing of qualified housing loan applications of Nigerian workers who registered contributors to the NHF scheme.

According to him, efforts of the bank’s management have led to a 45 per cent increase in the FMBN’s speed of processing the NHF housing loan applications.

He said this had made it possible for the bank to substantially reduce the huge backlog of loan applications that were on the ground two years ago.

Dangiwa said, “We have recorded improvements in the turnaround time of the NHF loan applications. While before now it used to take an average of two years to process an NHF loan, we have been able to bring this down to four months.

“Of course, we are still not where we want to be, but at least we are now moving in the right direction and intend to do more.”

He appealed to primary mortgage banks to also improve on their turnaround time for the NHF mortgage loans by ensuring speedy treatment of applications.

The FMBN boss, however, added that the bank’s weak financial capitalisation remained a major handicap to its ability to deliver affordable housing units.

Dangiwa called on the Federal Government to increase the capitalisation of the bank from the meagre N5bn, with only N2.56bn fully paid up, to N500bn.

This, he said, was a necessary first step to strengthening the capacity of the bank to meet the housing demands of Nigerian workers.

According to him, a stronger capital base for the bank will put the institution in a better place to leverage more finance from the private sector, capital market and international development agencies for the deployment of affordable homes.