KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MR. G. A. OGUNLEYE, OFR, MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF NDIC AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE IMPLANT TRAINING ON MORTGAGE BANKING ORGANISED FOR STAFF OF THE CORPORATION BY RESORT CONSULT LIMITED AT THE GATEWAY HOTEL, IJEBU-ODE, BETWEEN 25TH AND 30TH MAY, 2009

PROTOCOL

1. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the Implant training on mortgage banking that is being organised for the Corporation by Resort Consult Ltd to upscale the knowledge and skills of staff on mortgage banking.

2. With effect from January 1, 2008, the Corporation extended the Deposit Insurance coverage to licensed Microfinance banks (MFBs) and Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) thereby enhancing stakeholders’ confidence in the sub sector. Consequently, a separate Deposit Insurance Fund, the Special Insured Institutions Fund (the SIIF) was created to warehouse the annual premiums paid by the institutions. However, bringing the sub sector the Deposit Insurance Scheme (DIS) made it mandatory for the Corporation, as a risk minimiser, to ensure that the institutions continue to be in sound financial health in order to reduce the threat to the SIIF. The Corporation carries out its supervisory activities by examining these institutions on-site and off-site.

3. Recent developments in the global economy at large and the mortgage industry in particular necessitated this training. We are all aware of the failures of financial institutions in the developed countries which are traceable to the problems associated with sub-prime lending in the mortgage sub-sector in the United States of America. The global financial crisis and the anticipated reforms in the mortgage sub-sector in Nigeria all make a deeper understanding of mortgage banking essential for the supervisory authorities.

4. In realization of our capacity building objectives, the Corporation approved the implant training on microfinance and mortgage banking in 2008 to address identified skill gaps of staff in on-site and off-site supervision of the sub-sector. However, while microfinance training was conducted last year, that on mortgage banking could not hold. I am pleased to state here that Resort Consult Ltd has been contracted to conduct the training after a rigorous appraisal of training proposals submitted by a number of training organizations.

5. Forty staff drawn from the Special Insured Institutions Department, Bank Examination Unit, Abuja, Legal Department and the Zonal Offices would benefit from this first run of the training, while more staff would be availed the same opportunity in subsequent runs. It is my expectation that at the end of the training, the participants would:

(i) Become acquainted with intricacies of mortgage banking in Nigeria;
(ii) Appraise the quality of mortgage assets/loans;
(iii) Understand the features and elements of mortgage-backed securities and securitization of mortgages;
(iv) Identify the problems in mortgage financing including National Housing Fund; and(v)
Make appropriate recommendations to Management as input for the review of mortgage banking regulatory framework.

6. I will advise you to seize the opportunity provided by this workshop to examine critically some of the problems you encountered in the course of supervising these institutions and proffer appropriate solutions.

7. I wish to remind you that the Corporation continues to pay adequate attention to constant training and re-training of staff and that explains why adequate budgetary provisions are made for training every year. In this regard, I charge you to take the training seriously so as to derive maximum benefits from it. It is only by so doing that you would justify the enormous resources expended on the training by the Corporation.

8. As you are already aware, you will be examined on the topics covered during the training. I need to add that poor performance at the examination will not be tolerated.

9. I wish you a safe and productive stay at Ijebu-Ode. It is on this note that I hereby declare the course on Mortgage Banking open.

10.Thank you for your attention.

May 25, 2009