Firm commits to reducing N21tr housing deficit

Stakeholders in Abuja have expressed concerns over the housing deficit in the country, urging investors to close the deficits.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had disclosed the country’s present housing deficit of over 20 million units would require about N21 trillion to finance.

Experts at Infinity Trust Mortgage Plc’s 16th yearly general meeting where shareholders received a 50 kobo dividend, noted that it remained sacrosanct to tackle the existing housing deficit.

The company disclosed that strategies that would increase acquisition and improve the number of homeowners in the country through flexible mortgage products are already in place.

The Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors, Dr. Adeyinka Bibilari, said a net profit after tax of N542 million the company shows the strength and resilience of the bank’s strategy, adding that the loans provided to bridge housing deficits grew by 39 per cent from N7.12 billion in 2020 to N9.91 billion in 2021.

For lending and refinancing activities, the bank witnessed a growth of 22 per cent from N2.68 billion to N4.76 billion.

“Total assets grew by 22 per cent from N13.34 billion in 2020 to N16.19 billion in 2021, while shareholders’ funds grew by five per cent from N6.44 billion in 2020 to N6.77 billion in 2021. The bank’s customer deposit base increased by 5 per cent from N3.77 billion in 2020 to N3.96 billion in 2021,” said Bibilari.

Managing Director, Sunday Olumorin, in his reaction to the Bank’s performance, noted that the Bank would be ahead of changing trends to deliver value to all stakeholders, adding “We will continue to explore opportunities and develop products that would deepen mortgage penetration.”

The MD/CEO further said the Bank would focus on entrenching the suitable structures and creating an agile and solution-minded team capable of driving the vision and mission of the Bank.

He said: “We have a strategy of becoming the most dominant Mortgage Bank in Nigeria. We have begun the implementation of new strategies that would increase our customer acquisition while improving the number of homeowners in the country through our flexible mortgage products.”