Jonathan To Launch New Mortgage Refinance Company – Okonjo-Iweala

T

he Minister of Finance
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in Abuja said President Goodluck Jonathan would officially launch the newly established Mortgage Refinance Company (MRC)?by September.

Mortgage refinancing is the process of paying off an existing loan by taking a new loan and using the same property as security or collateral.

This will help home owners to refinance their mortgage expenses if interest rates drop.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala made this known in a statement signed by her Special Adviser, Mr Paul Nwabuikwu and made available to newsmen in Abuja recently.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who is also the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said that the company was established by the Federal Government to make it easier for many Nigerians to own their own houses.

According to the minister, the company, being promoted by the Federal Government in partnership with the private sector, will help to address the acute housing challenges in the country.

She said that currently, the country’s total housing shortage stood at 17 million units.

The minister attributed this to part of the reason President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision project was founded to make mortgage funds accessible at cheaper rates from housing finance lenders.

She said that World Bank had already bought into the emerging refinance institution with a soft loan of 300 million dollars under the bank’s International Development Association (IDA) concessionary lending window.

The minister said that the Federal Government was also working on mass housing schemes with a rent-to-own option for workers to reduce the housing deficit in the country.

“The target of the first stage of the mass housing scheme is to increase the number of completed mortgages from the current 20,000 housing units to 200,000 units in three years.

“Though this target is quite a tough one, we believe that with the leadership of the President and the commitment and hard work of the various ministries and agencies involved, it is achievable,’’ she said.

Okonjo- Iweala said that plans were also underway to develop the required policy and legislation to support the proposed reforms in the housing sector.