BY OLUYINKA SOYEMI, IBADAN
Nigeria’s leading mortgage bank, Cooperative Mortgage Bank (CMB), has announced its unwavering commitment to the provision of quality and affordable houses to cooperative societies which have low-income earners as members.
The project, codenamed Group Save for Shelter, targets cooperative societies in every sector of the economy who are consistent with payments of as low as N2,000 for an initial period of one to three months.
In a chat with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Musa Abubakar Yusuf, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday, he disclosed that it is high time cooperative societies benefitted from the collective special housing initiative.
According to him, ‘’As our name implies, we deal with cooperatives. We believe they are well structured and have some money in commercial banks which they have not fully utilised.
‘’We have been here for over 28 years and we’re currently in search of low and middle income earners in these societies. We discovered these strata do not have access to acquiring properties dues to unavailability of fund. Basically, we want to assist cooperators that can’t afford equity payment — which is a certain percentage of the total sum of a house.
‘’Group Save for Shelter encapsulates monthly contributions of as low as 2,000 per individual to enable them make up their equity payment because most members of cooperative societies cannot afford even 10% equity.’’
Yusuf stated that after the initial one to three months’ payment to show commitment of potential home owners, construction commences and mortgage payments starts after delivery of edifice.
He therefore urged cooperative societies to embrace the project, adding that the bank is also on a mission to assist them get government partnership and benefits.