E-Financial
FMBN Extends Loans to NHF Contributors
The Federal Government has assured the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) of legislative amendments of relevant housing industry laws that will pave the way for its recapitalisation to N500 billion to enable the bank carry out its cardinal objectives.
The bank for a long time has not been able to carry out its constitutional duties of giving loan facilities to contributors of the National Housing Fund.
These laws, according to the Federal Government, include the National Housing Fund (NHF) Act, 1992 and FMBN Establishment Act, 1993 which raises hope for the housing sector as expectation is that more people, especially those who are contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF), will get housing loan that will enable them to either buy or build their own homes.
Accordingly, it will impact the economy as more home owners will lead to increased productivity and economic activities that will create jobs for both skilled and unskilled labour in the housing sector.
Giving the Federal Government’s perspective on this recently at FMBN Management Retreat held in Abuja with the theme, ‘Transformational Innovation for Sustainable Development in Uncertain Times’ the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa who was the immediate past Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the apex bank, promised to ensure that FMBN gets all the necessary support at the highest levels possible to deliver maximally and optimally on its mandate to Nigerians.
“As minister, I am committed to being a way-maker, facilitator and catalyst to the evolution of the bank as a modern, impactful and resilient housing finance institution that delivers on the maxim that ‘everyone deserves a home,’ the Minister said.
He noted that FMBN must be seen as a tool of service to Nigerians, tasking the staff to see their jobs and the salaries that they are paid as recompense for the services that they offer to Nigerians. “We must ensure that we offer quality customer service to Nigerians which is very important,” he said.
He charged the bank to deliver on the Federal Government’s expectations and the needs of Nigerians for affordable housing, adding that what this means is that FMBN must transform, innovate and lead a new era of massive housing development and delivery even in these difficult times of high construction costs and lower incomes.
“This requires a radically new mindset, thinking out of the box and identifying the oppourtunities that these challenges present,” he said.
Dangiwa revealed that a lot of work has been done on the review of the NHF Act and FMBN Establishment Act as they have achieved successful passage by the two chambers of the National Assembly, but presidential assent was declined.
He added that the current efforts must specifically identify the reasons for the rejection, so that appropriate steps are taken to address the concerns of the relevant stakeholders.
He urged FMBN to make greater efforts towards reducing its non-performing loan portfolio and clearance of backlog of its audited accounts, saying, “A major step in this regard is to ensure efficient processing and approval of corresponding NHF loans for all completed projects, as well as to ensure effective off-take and inter-account settlement to clean up the bank’s books,” he said.
Based on the Federal Government’s goal to create a $1trillion economy within the next 10 years, Dangiwa said the trajectory in the housing sector must move towards putting a large chunk of the goal on the table.
“In this direction, we must deliberately seek to continually increase the real estate sector contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to fulfil its projected role as the bedrock of economic growth and wealth creation,” he added.
Tope Fasua, Special Assistant to the President on Economic Affairs, who was Guest Speaker at the retreat, said the country had potential for $200 billion investment in housing, attracting foreign investments and growing the economy by double digits.
Fasua noted that the big challenge in the sector has been the growing size of dead capital in the country which, according to him, is worth over $900 billion, adding that with artificial intelligence, all land globally will be documented and optimised.
Madu Hamman, FMBN’s managing director, said the institution has been providing mortgage finance and facilitating home ownership for low and medium-income earners through its various schemes and products. He noted, however, that these efforts are not enough to meet the growing demand for shelter and expectations of the Nigerian people.
“The housing sector has faced a severe shortage of and corresponding high cost of building materials that has negatively impacted the delivery of affordable housing in the country,” he said, adding, “these factors demand that we rethink our strategies, policies, and processes to ensure quality, affordable, and sustainable housing for Nigerians.”
Debt Management Office (DMO) said the federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter of 2026.
The office disclosed the data in its latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026.
The figure comprises N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
The agency said in January, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.
Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure was 47.7 percent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 percent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.
Also, the debt office said interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter.
The DMO said treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on federal government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The agency said the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.
The DMO said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, the government’s domestic debt service rose sharply through the quarter, with March accounting for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
Nigeria’s public debt increased by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in the Q1 of 2026.
Interswitch Group, an integrated digital payments and commerce company, together with global banking software provider, Temenos have reassured the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of their commitment to advancing the modernisation of Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Interswitch and Temenos had earlier in June announced a strategic partnership across Africa which would see Interswitch leverage Temenos solutions – across core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime mitigation – to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to banks and financial institutions across Africa.
This will enable institutions to progressively transform their banking platform and evolve to more customer-centric business models. The service will initially support key African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and others.
The recent regulatory visit to CBN headquarters in Abuja, was led by the Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Temenos, Santhosh Rao, as part of the ongoing efforts by both organisations to deepen collaboration with Central Banks across the African region on the future of digital banking infrastructure across Nigeria and key African markets.
Discussions centred on the strategic partnership between Interswitch and Temenos, and how it will enable Nigerian financial institutions to progressively modernise their core banking platforms and transition to more customer-centric business models.
The two organisations also explored opportunities to work with the CBN in charting new frontiers in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) innovation, leveraging resilient financial networks and decentralised application platforms to support the issuance and management of CBDCs.
Commenting on the visit, Elegbesaid: “Our partnership as Interswitch with Temenos and our continued engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria reflect a shared commitment to building banking infrastructure that is resilient, inclusive, and ready for the next phase of Africa’s financial evolution.
We are proud to be at the table as these conversations shape the future of digital banking technology and innovation across key Africa markets…”
The Bank of Industry, through BOI Financing SPV Plc, has opened subscriptions for its inaugural Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond worth up to N250bn under its $1bn multi-currency instruments programme, seeking to raise long-term capital to finance businesses across Nigeria’s priority sectors.
The offer, which opened on 5 August and closes on 11 August, is being arranged by Chapel Hill Denham as the lead issuing house. The five-year bond is priced within a yield range of 17.35 per cent to 17.50 per cent and will be listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
According to the offer document, proceeds from the issuance will be deployed to finance eligible businesses and projects across sectors, including agriculture and food processing, healthcare, engineering and technology, renewable energy, petrochemicals, oil and gas, creative industries and solid minerals, in line with BOI’s development finance mandate.
The lender said the financing is expected to improve access to medium and long-term funding for Nigerian enterprises, expand productive capacity, create and preserve jobs, deepen local value addition, support import substitution, boost exports and strengthen domestic value chains.
BOI, Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, said it has provided funding to more than one million businesses across the country and disbursed over N1.27tn between 2023 and 2025. The institution operates across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory and is jointly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank also highlighted its financial performance, reporting a 36 per cent compound annual growth rate in gross earnings between 2021 and 2025.
Interest income rose 64 per cent to N884bn in 2025 from N538bn in the previous year, while its capital adequacy ratio stood at 39 per cent, nearly four times the regulatory minimum of 10 per cent. Its non-performing loan ratio was 1.7 per cent, below the CBN’s prudential limit of five per cent.
The bond has been assigned AAA ratings by Agusto & Co. and Intelligence Africa, reflecting the issuer’s strong capitalization, profitability, liquidity and ownership structure.
The issuance is open to institutional and qualified investors with a minimum subscription of N5m and additional investments in multiples of N1m. Interest will be paid semi-annually at a fixed rate, while principal repayment will begin in the third year through equal semi-annual amortised instalments until maturity in 2031.
The bond is also exempt from tax, making it an attractive investment option for investors seeking stable returns amid expectations of declining interest rates.
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