• PenCom blacklists mortgage banks over housing loan breach.
• Seven lenders barred from processing pension-backed equity contributions.
• Scheme has provided N149.84 billion to over 24,000 RSA holders.

The National Pension Commission has barred seven mortgage banks from participating in its residential housing loan program, accusing them of breaching compliance rules.

The move blocks pension contributors from channelling part of their retirement savings into mortgage equity through the affected lenders.

PenCom blacklists mortgage banks over housing loan breach

In a circular dated August 11, PenCom instructed Pension Fund Administrators and Custodians to halt processing equity applications immediately.

The directive, signed by Obiora Ibeziako, Head of Benefits and Insurance, targeted seven Primary Mortgage Banks for compliance violations.

The blacklisted banks are Jigawa Savings & Loans, FHA Mortgage Bank, Delta Trust Mortgage Bank, and AG Mortgage Bank Limited.

Others include Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc, First Trust Mortgage Bank Limited, and Mutual Alliance Mortgage Bank Limited.

PenCom spokesman Ibrahim Buwai explained that some banks failed to generate mortgages despite receiving approved pension-backed equity contributions.

“If banks are not generating mortgages, they are not complying with the regulations,” Buwai told reporters after the decision.

Housing loan scheme supports pension-backed mortgages

The equity contribution program, launched in September 2022, allows Retirement Savings Account holders to apply up to 25 percent of their balances toward securing residential mortgages. The scheme was introduced to expand access to affordable housing for contributors.

By the end of the first quarter of 2025, about 24,582 RSA holders had benefited, with approvals totalling N149.84 billion.

According to Punch, PenCom said it would continue to monitor compliance and ensure that pension funds earmarked for housing were used strictly as intended.

The blacklisting highlights Nigeria’s ongoing struggle to balance pension safety with the need to tackle the country’s acute housing deficit, estimated in the tens of millions of units.