Mortgage Banking Should Be Tech-Driven – FMBN MD
The Managing Director and Chief Executive of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Shehu Usman Osidi, on Monday highlighted the transformative role of technology in reshaping mortgage banking in Nigeria.
Shehu said in a presentation at the 21st Annual Conference of Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN), holding in Abuja, that mortgage banking should be tech-driven.
His paper was titled ‘Leveraging Technology in Customer Service Delivery: Enhancing Value and Efficiency in Mortgage Banking through the FMBN’.
According to him, it is important for mortgage banks to adopt initiatives such as the deployment of Core Banking Applications to streamline loan origination, underwriting, servicing, and foreclosure management processes to facilitate seamless operations for National Housing Fund contributors and other stakeholders.
He highlighted how various countries have leveraged technology to advance mortgage banking, citing the example of Singapore’s highly digitised ecosystem with platforms for property searches, e-signatures, and quick loan approvals.
He noted that countries like Mexico and South Africa focus on financial inclusion through tailored loan products and advanced credit scoring models, while Kenya employs mobile technology, such as M-Pesa, to extend mortgage services to rural populations.
These global examples, he said, offer lessons for Nigeria, which has already pioneered innovations like the NIBSS Instant Payments system, which revolutionised real-time money transfers since 2011.
He also underscored the importance of collaborations with PropTech and FinTech companies to drive innovation and market growth.
Shehu particularly noted that PropTechs are more flexible and adaptive to play in and across the housing market, because they do not contend with the burden of regulation like traditional real estate players and mortgage institutions.
“These crop of new players in the real estate sector serve as a wake-up call for us the traditional players, to equally rapidly adopt technology, but more importantly, pursue business opportunities by way of collaboration and partnerships with FinTechs and PropTechs going forward.”
The conference, with the theme ‘Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in Mortgage Banking to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals,’ began on Friday.
