THE Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has announced the introduction of a non-interest rent-to-own mortgage loan product.

The bank said the product was designed to help Nigerians leverage non-interest mortgages to own their homes.

In a statement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FMBN, Ahmed Dangiwa, said, “I am excited that we have been able to fix this decades-old problem.

“For over 30 years, a significant number of the over five million Nigerians who contribute to the National Housing Fund Scheme have been prevented from taking advantage of their rights because of the interest-based nature of FMBN housing products.

“What we have done with this product is to create a financing arrangement that recognizes, respects, and speaks to their genuine concerns for inclusion.”

The bank added that its new product would eliminate the challenges that eligible Nigerians who want to own homes through the National Housing Fund Scheme face because of the interest-based nature of the bank’s existing housing products.

It added that the product’s financing structure is based on the non-interest financing contract of Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek (Lease to Own) and under the arrangement, it will retain ownership of the property until the financing term ends or at any time during the lease period that the beneficiary wishes to purchase the property.