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NMRC came into the Nigerian mortgage market on a very high pedestal, promising a major shift in the interest rate regime in the market. But the authorities of the company have said that, though it is a partnership between the government and the private sector, the company operates as a private sector-led institution, relying on the market to determine interest rate on mortgage loans, meaning that the rate that applies to commercial loans also applies to its mortgage.

“The desire of NMRC, the Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is to achieve single digit interest rate, but we are not there yet because the market does not allow single digit interest rate”, the official said, adding, “as it is today, we cannot meet the single digit interest rate until we are able to reach that point where the market allows it”.

Right now, the company is working under market conditions, hoping that, over time, as the market deepens and grows, the issue of single digit interest rate will be expected. Whatever the rate is today, the desire is to drive it down to single digit.

After all, part of its mandate at inception, is to increase liquidity in the mortgage system by raising funds from the capital, foreign and local, and using same to refinance mortgages to be originated by participating primary mortgage lenders.

To its credit, the company has visited the market twice and raised about N18 with which it has refinanced the loans presented by a few primary mortgage lenders as at the last quarter of 2018.