Economy
Non-Performing Mortgage Loans Hit N94b
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has disclosed that at least 55 percent of the mortgage industry’s N94 billion loans are classified as non-performing.
According to Bloomberg, mortgage lenders are buckling under the weight of unpaid loans as job losses and inflation near a record high hinder the ability of customers to pay off their debts.
President of Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria, Mr Adeniyi Akinlusi, was quoted as saying, “They are just struggling to survive; a lot of them aren’t making money.”
While the association said it was not aware of any mortgage lenders on the verge of collapsing, increased pressure on the nation’s 36 home-loan providers presents another challenge to the Federal Government as the country reels under recession.
Rising costs for everything from building materials to school fees have meant the industry has been stagnant since June, according to Mr Akinlusi.
That compares with a ratio of 10 per cent for the N18.5 trillion of loans granted by commercial banks and 45 percent for microfinance banks, which have N195 billion of outstanding loans.
“The real estate market mirrors the larger economy,” the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos-based real estate broker, Fine and Country West Africa, Udo Okonjo, said.
“Over the last year-and-a-half, the recession affected key sectors such as oil and gas, financial and manufacturing. There were a lot of layoffs.”
The country’s official unemployment rate jumped to the highest level in at least seven years in the third quarter of last year.
While inflation in February slowed from a record a month earlier, at 17.8 percent, it is still almost double the CBN’s target.
Total assets in the mortgage industry surged to more than N386 billion at the end of June, compared with N102 billion a year earlier.
Regulators require mortgage lenders to have at least half their total assets in home loans.
Biggest mortgage banks include Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, FBN Mortgages Limited, and Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, which in October reported that net income in the third quarter plunged 37 per cent as non-performing loans jumped.
There are efforts to return the industry to growth as the Federal Government pledges to boost housing through the creation of a fund of as much as N1 trillion, which will offer up to 20-year loans to developers at interest rates of 9.9 percent.
The Federal Mortgage Bank is also giving mortgage providers loans of up to 20 years, which will relieve operators of the burden of having to seek long-term funding, according to Mr Akinlusi.
According to him, the regulator is expected to draft rules this year that will enable mortgage companies to provide loans to workers in the informal sector, including farmers, who do not earn enough to make an initial down-payment for the debt.
Punch
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
