Experts have expressed mixed reactions to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) raising the limit for National Housing Fund (NHF) mortgage loans from N15 million to N50 million.
Ayodeji Gbeleyi, Chairman of the FMBN Board, disclosed this during the commissioning ceremony of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation Staff Millennium Mission Planning and Control Station Ltd Estate in the Sagamu area.
Gbeleyi said the decision was made in response to requests by the higher income-earning segment of NHF subscribers.
He also noted that the increase in the mortgage loan limit demonstrates the FMBN’s commitment to delivering affordable housing to Nigerian workers, especially those in the public and private sectors who are contributors to the NHF Scheme managed by the bank.
The Board Chairman explained further that “the scheme, established in 1992, enables workers to contribute 2.5 percent of their monthly income and access loans to cater for their housing finance needs, such as outright purchase, self-construction, home renovation, and rent-to-own.
“More recently, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the NHF mortgage loan limit from N15 million to N50 million per applicant in response to requests by the higher income earning segment of NHF subscribers.
“The maximum loan limit, however, is subject to affordability based on the monthly development, I want to assure you of the monthly income of an applicant,” he stressed.
While some of the experts are querying the rationale behind the new NHF loan threshold, considering the low-income nature of the average Nigerian and the years it will take to pay back the loan, others are in support of the scheme, describing it as “good news.”
Expressing his surprise, Adewunmi Okupe, said: “Which income level can take a N50 million loan from FMBN and pay it back successfully?
Another expert, Femi Oyedele, argued that based on the structure of FMBN, it was not expected to deal with individuals or developers but to act as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of retail mortgage banks (bankers of mortgage bankers).
“They are not supposed to deal with individuals and developers directly because of the privileges. It is anti-competition except we want to eradicate the retail mortgage banking system in Nigeria.
“It should not be directly competing with the small retail mortgage banks. If we don’t stop corruption in our processes, corruption will stop our processes and our development,” Oyedele said.
Emmanuel Akinwunmi described the new NHF’s limit as “good news from FMBN.”
According to him, the Family Homes Fund should follow suit by raising their threshold and stop pretending that the threshold set for financing eligibility is realistic and sustainable.
He said the definition of affordable housing did not exclude decent living and economically viable and motivating project development that will draw in private investors who are set to mobilize en masse once the enabling environment is right.
He said: “Strangely, Nigeria is one of the countries around the world where pragmatic solutions are sidelined for dysfunctional policies, rhetoric, and political talks. No matter what, the issue of commercialization of the FMBN should not be mistakenly set aside or overlooked like the issue of trapped restructuring of the country that has made a giant remains a lilliput in global development and comity of progressive nations!”
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