FirstBank, MREIF home loan scheme offers 9.75% fixed-rate mortgages to Nigerians

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has disclosed that its home loan scheme with the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) allows eligible Nigerians to finance completed residential properties at a fixed interest rate of 9.75 per cent, with repayment extending to 20 years.

The bank made the disclosure at a webinar titled 'Beyond Rent: The Path to Home Ownership Leveraging FirstBank-MREIF Home Loan Scheme to Build Long-Term Wealth.' Chukwuka Okonkwo, Head of Personal Banking at FirstBank, said the scheme was structured to make mortgage financing more accessible to Nigerians struggling with the cost of acquiring homes.

Under the scheme, applicants can access up to N100 million, subject to their income, age and repayment capacity. A minimum 10 per cent equity contribution is required, while eligible contributors can use up to 25 per cent of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance to supplement the contribution. Couples can apply jointly, with both spouses' incomes considered, and the scheme currently finances only completed properties with valid and verifiable titles.

Sani Yakubu, National Coordinator of MREIF, said the intervention responds to a housing deficit of more than 20 million homes and yearly housing delivery of only about 100,000 units. He estimated that closing the gap would require about N60 trillion and said the fund's first N250 billion tranche comprises N150 billion from the Federal Government and N100 billion from private investors.

Olubiyi Adekunbi, Head of Real Estate Investment at ARM Investment Managers, said more than N140 billion had been deployed to over 2,000 beneficiaries across 27 states since mortgage disbursements began in April. Olufemi Adebayo, Executive Director at Leadway Pensure PFA, said the pension administrator had processed more than 70,000 applications and disbursed over N70 billion under the home ownership scheme.