FG Set To Commercialise FMBN

The Federal Government
is set to expand the ownership of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) that would allow private sector intervention and fresh injection of funds into the housing finance system.
This was disclosed by the Director General Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Mr Benjamin Dikki in a statement recently stressing that the move is in line with reform and commercialization of public enterprises.
Dikki said the Privatization and Commercialization Act of 1999 classified the apex mortgage bank as one of the public enterprises for full commercialization.
He said the proposed reform of the FMBN would enhance its operational autonomy by removing bureaucratic bottlenecks and political interference through a clear separation of power of ownership and management such as federal government, sector ministry, the board of directors and the management of the public enterprises.
The Tide learnt that some stakeholders have accused the FMBN of underperforming and renenged in meeting its primary obligations to contributors of the National Housing Fund (NHF), primary mortgage banks, and developers across the country.
A senior official of the bank in Port Harcourt who pleaded anonymity said the FMBN no longer give out loan on estate development to estate developers, to build residential housing estates at an interest rate of 10 per cent per annum and for tenor not exceeding two years.
With this new development the bank is expected to adhere strictly to private sector procedures when fully commercialised in its operations, but the federal government still retains her ownership.
Under the programme, FMBN will evolve a more result oriented and accountable management, based on performance agreements and the provision of competitive compensation schemes for the employees, strengthen financial and accounting controls and also upgrade its management information systems.