Mortgage banking value chain not developed, CBN insists

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the supply value chain of mortgage banking in the country has not adequately developed or integrated enough to have each unit contributing optimally to the whole.

Besides, the apex bank noted that the present weaknesses create opportunities, as several sectors in the value chain are presently not explored or are under-explored.

The Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department (OFISD), Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, asserted at the just concluded 11th continuous education programme, organised by Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), and Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN) in Lagos.
Martins said the entire mortgage value chain has been a report card of sub-optimal performance, adding that Nigeria with a population of about 170 million with a housing stock supply shortfall of 17million units, the market potential is therefore not in doubt.

She said: “Should we get our acts together and move this sector forward, it could present a key catalyst to grow our economy, as studies have shown that direct employment in the housing sector leads to gainful employment of twice the direct number.”

She added that it aids funding and creates a deeper market, provides credits, which permit expansion without physical cash; a boost for any economy.
Martins, who was represented by Deputy Director in OFISD, Bassey Ekpo, urged directors who are ultimately responsible for the progress and sustainability of such banks to explore and break boundaries that will see the sector contributing 20 to 40 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next 10 years.

The Managing Director, FITC, Lucy Surhyel Newman, said the centre is aware of innovation that happened in the mortgage banking space with the potential of giving aspirations for development while the sector is running a deficit market and the opportunities are immense.

“We appreciate the role that CBN has played on all the programmes that we have delivered over the past decade. It is a good journey and we look forward to reviewing it and updating it as we go along,” she added.