Nigeria’s mortgage agency seeks approval for $1.4bn debt programme

Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) plans to seek approval from members by the end of the month to triple the size of its debt programme to N440bn ($1.44bn), the state-backed mortgage agency said this week.

The country set up a mortgage-backed guarantee company in 2014, partly with World Bank aid, in an effort to boost lending through the creation of a secondary housing market, which is virtually non-existent in Africa’s most populous nation.

NMRC said the notes could be issued through non-convertible loans and bonds, either through public offering, private placement or a book-building process, it said in a notice to members.