Nigeria’s apex bank on Thursday said it was working to make the local mortgage markets compete favorably with international markets.
The Central Bank of Nigeria said a newly set up national committee would work out the modalities to establish a mortgage credit rating to improve the citizen’s access to affordable housing in the country.
It said improving the mortgage sector was an important aspect to achieving the ultimate goal of making Nigeria one of the top 20 economies of the world by the year 2020.
The apex bank said it would set up minimum standards and guidelines of the creditworthiness of mortgage and financing institutions in the West African country.
In some countries, credit ratings contain reports of the track record of borrowings and repaying banks, credit card companies, and any other lenders.
“When you apply to borrow money, the lender uses the credit report to decide if you are a safe bet or a risk. They also base whatever interest rate they offer on that report and the resulting credit score,” according to Mohammed Suleiman, an official of the apex bank.
He said all mortgage operators in the country would be categorized according to their level of compliance to operating guidelines. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
