FMBN Targets $20bn Diaspora Remittances With New Mortgage Scheme

…Sets 500,000 Diaspora Target For National Housing Fund

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has unveiled a new Diaspora National Housing Fund (NHF) Mortgage Scheme aimed at attracting a larger share of the estimated $20bn annual remittances from Nigerians living abroad into long-term housing investment.

The initiative, launched in London, will enable eligible Nigerians in the diaspora to register under the NHF Scheme, make contributions remotely and access mortgage financing to purchase homes in Nigeria without travelling home.

Under the scheme, eligible contributors can access up to N100m in mortgage financing at an interest rate of nine per cent per annum, with a maximum repayment period of 10 years, subject to affordability and other requirements.

Speaking on the initiative, the FMBN Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Shehu Osidi, said the bank was targeting 500,000 Nigerians in the diaspora within the first year of the programme.

According to him, the bank hopes to expand participation to about four million Nigerians within five years, with contributors expected to make a minimum monthly contribution of $100.

“There are about 17 million Nigerians in the diaspora. We expect that in the first one year we should have around 500,000. We are looking at growing this number to around four million in the first five years,” Osidi said.

He explained that the scheme was designed not only to help Nigerians abroad own homes but also to channel diaspora resources into productive investments in the Nigerian economy.

“Beyond homeownership, we expect the initiative to stimulate housing construction, create employment, deepen mortgage penetration, promote greater formalisation of housing transactions, strengthen confidence in the Nigerian mortgage system and facilitate increased diaspora investment in the Nigerian economy,” he said.

Osidi said the bank had carefully designed the process to address concerns over fraud, poor-quality housing and questionable property titles that have discouraged some Nigerians abroad from investing in real estate back home.

He said FMBN would first establish a contribution pool through which prospective beneficiaries would be profiled before they could access approved housing stock.

“We have carefully thought about the process for this product. We have been on it for quite a while because we needed to address all of those concerns,” he said.

According to him, only accredited developers whose integrity and properties had been verified by FMBN would be listed on the bank’s website for prospective buyers.

“You don’t get onboarded if we have not exactly determined the integrity of the developer. So everything is going to be foolproof in terms of the title documentation, the quality of the houses, the price and everything,” Osidi said.

He added that applicants would undergo verification and affordability checks, while the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) would also be involved in the process.

The FMBN boss said the scheme would provide a secure alternative to informal arrangements through which Nigerians abroad often send money to relatives or intermediaries to acquire property on their behalf.

He said the initiative would also help ensure that existing housing stock developed by accredited developers was taken up by qualified buyers.

“This is therefore not simply a Diaspora product. It is a national housing finance strategy under the Renewed Hope Housing Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and is designed to leverage the enormous potential of Nigerians abroad for the benefit of the entire country,” Osidi said.

NiDCOM Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, also described the product as an initiative anchored on “investment, belonging and trust.”

She urged Nigerians in the diaspora to take advantage of the new mortgage window.

“FMBN has done its part. NiDCOM has done hers. Now, you do yours,” Dabiri-Erewa said.

The initiative is expected to stimulate residential construction, support developers, create jobs and deepen mortgage penetration while providing Nigerians abroad with a structured avenue to invest in property and build long-term wealth in Nigeria.