Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has called for enhanced innovation and collaboration among mortgage bankers and brokers to improve Nigerians’ access to affordable housing loans. During his address at the 21st Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Conference in Abuja, Dangiwa urged stakeholders to create inventive solutions that could increase the availability of loans, enabling more citizens to achieve homeownership.
The minister stressed the need to focus on the low- and middle-income groups, highlighting strategies to improve their access to housing. The event, themed “Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in Mortgage Banking to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” provided a platform to discuss innovations and solutions to Nigeria’s growing housing deficit.
Dangiwa called for collaboration to address the disparity in loan rates, advocating for hybrid mortgage products that could bridge the gap between commercial rates of 28% and the 6-7% rates offered by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN). “This will make affordable housing loans more accessible to Nigerians within the low- and middle-income brackets, but it will require innovation, intuition, and sacrifice,” he said.
He pointed to the cross-subsidy initiative under the Renew Hope Cities programme as an example of creative financing. This initiative uses profits from higher-priced units to subsidise homes for low- and middle-income earners.
The minister also raised concerns over regulatory challenges, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria’s single obligor limit, which restricts how much financial institutions can lend to a single borrower. He urged stakeholders to support FMBN’s efforts to have this limitation removed, calling it a significant barrier to growth in the housing sector.
Dangiwa also welcomed the recent launch of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Real Estate Investment Fund, which aims to attract capital market funds to support affordable housing initiatives. He encouraged mortgage bankers and brokers to engage with the fund and collaborate with MOFI.
Emphasising the importance of public-private partnerships and sustainable practices in housing development, the minister referenced the World Urban Forum held in Cairo, highlighting the shift towards climate-smart urban development strategies.
He also noted that the mortgage banking and housing finance sector currently contributes less than 0.5% to Nigeria’s GDP and urged for renewed efforts to transform the sector through innovation and collaboration. “By doing things differently, with innovation and better cooperation, we can commit to a better future,” he said.
The conference provided a valuable forum for industry leaders to discuss ways to enhance the sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s economy and address the country’s housing needs.
In his welcome address, the President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN), Ebilate Mac-Yoroki, stressed the need for critical reforms and stronger public-private partnerships to bridge Nigeria’s housing affordability gap. He also highlighted the role of inclusive housing finance in achieving SDG 11 on sustainable cities and SDG 1 on eradicating poverty.
Mac-Yoroki outlined progress since the last conference, including the formation of a Technical Committee on National Housing Data aimed at creating a unified housing database, which he described as essential for transparency in the sector. He called for reforms such as amending the outdated Land Use Act (1978) and introducing foreclosure laws to streamline real estate transactions.
Advocating for financial innovation, Mac-Yoroki suggested leveraging assets to issue mortgage-backed securities and digitalising title documents to simplify real estate transactions.
The Managing Director of FMBN, Mr. Shehu Usman Osidi, also presented on “Leveraging Technology in Customer Service Delivery.” He outlined the bank’s progress in adopting technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotic process automation to improve mortgage origination and customer service.
The conference concluded with the recognition of Mr. Kayode Omotosho, the former Executive Secretary and CEO of MBAN, for his visionary leadership and lasting impact on the mortgage banking sector.
