NMRC Boss Wants Debt Capital Market Deepened

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), Prof. Charles Inyangete has called on public and private sector stakeholders to collaborate in creating a conducive policy and regulatory environment for a robust and transparent debt capital market(DCM).

He said this would help attract more domestic and international investors, increase the market’s financial depth and strengthen its capacity to provide the multi-billion-naira/dollar long-term financing required to address the country’s housing deficit.

Speaking at the just concluded FMDQ 2017 Nigerian Debt Capital Markets Conference with the theme: “Positioning for Growth” which held in Lagos, Inyangete, who acknowledged the positive strides being recorded by NMRC in increasing home ownership, expressed concern that the company’s N440 billion Bond Issuance Programme to fund its refinancing activities was grossly inadequate compared to an estimated N130 trillion needed to meet the housing deficit.

He tasked stakeholders to take actions that would help deepen the DCM because of its pivotal role as an effective financing enabler of infrastructure development.
Specifically, he said that a more vibrant capital market was critical as it serves as the main source of funds that NMRC uses to make housing affordable for Nigerians.

By accessing long-term funds at affordable market rates to refinance mortgage loans that are provided by primary mortgage lenders, NMRC is able to increase liquidity in the market and in the process help extend the repayment period for mortgage loans for as long as 20 years.

NMRC has used over N8 billion raised from the capital market to refinance mortgages for several primary mortgage institutions.

He said: “In connecting mortgages to the capital market, we are finding that we need to have the mortgages in the first place. So, housing stock is important and of course the structure to support housing is also crucial.”

According to him, the huge funding requirement could only be sourced from the Capital Market whose foundation is anchored on transparency, accountability and strong governance.