Analysing Profiles of the New FMBN Management Team
John Terhemen Ikyaave
A new management chapter has commenced at the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigeria’s oldest and apex mortgage institution. On April 15, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the reconstitution of the FMBN Board of Directors with Hamman Madu, a seasoned mortgage professional as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. This followed the expiration of the five-year tenure of the Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa-led Executive Management Team on Friday 8th April 2022, and the formal handing over ceremony at the Bank’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
The re-constituted FMBN Board comprises technocrats and industry professionals. This includes Umar Zubaida, Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services, Chukwuma Kingsley, Executive Director, Business Development & Portfolio Management (BD&PM), and Mustapha Lukman Olayiwola, Executive Director, Loans & Mortgage Services (L&MS). Others include Asein Abimbola and Ejezie Sandra Nkechi representing the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and Public Interest respectively as well as two representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Analysis of the profiles of the new FMBN Board and Executive Management Team show strong basis for optimism for the future of the Bank. The combination of Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, a Chartered Accountant and respected financial expert, as Board Chairman, Hamman Madu’s extensive mortgage industry expertise and practical experience at Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc as MD/CEO and the collective wealth of the Executive Directors, indicate that in the next five years FMBN should break significant new ground in advancing the Buhari administration’s drive to provide affordable housing to Nigerians and thus, lessening the growing housing deficit.
Madu – Sound Industry Knowledge as Take-off Leverage
For starters, Madu, the new FMBN MD/CEO blends several positives as a mortgage practitioner, business leader and transformation expert. His competencies include, strategic leadership, risk management, asset and liability management and credit administration. He is an alumnus of IMD Lausanne and holds a B.Sc. in Geography and MBA in Technology and Strategy. Madu has attended several courses in Management, Strategy, Leadership and Corporate Governance both locally and offshore.
Over the past forty years of his career in the financial sector, Madu has acquired over 35 years’ experience spanning different roles in mortgage banking and eight years in commercial and merchant banking. This includes credit analysis, banking operations, corporate finance, business support services and human resource management.
Before his appointment, he was the Managing Director of Abbey Mortgage Plc, one of the leading mortgage Banks in Nigeria starting from June 2020.In a two-year span, Madu effectively implemented a strategic turnaround plan that helped re-position Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc as one into the fastest growing mortgage lending institutions in Nigeria.
A key result is the remarkable improvement in Abbey’s Operational Performance. Within his first year in office, Madu led his team at Abbey to increase deposits by additional N9billion from N6Billion to N14billion. Early this year he oversaw a successful N3.3billion Capital Market Rights Issue to boost the Bank’s capitalization so it can better deliver more financial services to its customers. The issue was fully embraced by existing shareholders and investors reflecting market confidence in the Abbey Management. Funds raised increased the Bank’s market capitalization to N6billion thus strengthening the position of Abbey to expand its operations, leverage business opportunities, and improve capacity to respond to the dynamic economic realities.
Madu also embraced technology to power a new vision for Abbey’s operational efficiency and improved customer service delivery. Last month, Abbey launched an innovative mobile digital banking application that limits the need for in-person banking. The app provides customers with easy access to their accounts as well as the ability to perform seamless transactions on-the-go.
At the launch, the former MD/CEO of Abbey Mortgage Bank, Madu Hamman, now FMBN MD/CEO, said the need to evolve and embrace global best practices in the industry informed the development of the mobile banking app.
He explained that the app is in keeping with Abbey’s commitment to simplify homeownership, provide funding to qualified customers and reduce access times.
“This game changing application will facilitate smooth interaction between customers and stakeholders nationwide. It also marks a big step in the democratization of mortgage banking in Nigeria and providing unprecedented homeownership access for Nigerians in all geographical locations.”
Other digital solutions that he introduced at Abbey include the *5103# USSD code, and internet banking to ease customer interaction with the Bank’s suite of financial services.
On the back of these reforms, Abbey Mortgage Bank received industry recognition at the 2021 African Housing Awards as the Most Innovative Mortgage Bank in Nigeria in 2021.
Additionally, Madu anchored and directed the planning, integration, and implementation of mission critical projects such as Orbit, the core banking application that Abbey has been using for over 10 years now.
Thus, Madu’s inclination to innovation and capacity to leverage technology as a service performance enhancer is noteworthy as he takes the saddle of leadership at FMBN. The nation’s apex mortgage Bank is still in the process of digitizing its operations and requires a leader that understands the importance of technology as a driver of operational efficiency to the Bank’s evolution.
Madu’s ability to lead a rapid turnaround in the Bank’s fortunes was in large part a result of his capacity for business improvement and long history of working in varied positions of leadership at the Bank. In 1992, he had joined Abbey Mortgage Bank as a Senior Manager and one of the pioneer staff. He held the role of General Manager Human Resources and Corporate Resources from 1998 to 2008 where he rose to the position of Executive Director Finance and Administration from 2008 to 2020. He coordinated activities of foreign equity investors from due diligence to funding in 2007. He also anchored sourcing FDI’s funding to finance mortgage and housing development for the Bank in 2008/2009.
His commercial and merchant banking career spans several financial institutions. He worked at the African International Bank (former BCCI) where he rose from the position of Executive Trainee to a Senior Management position between 1984 to 1990. He moved on from AIB to the Corporate Banking Department of New World Merchant Bank in 1991.
A Management Team of Bankers and Technocrats
The Executive Management Team that Madu would lead at FMBN is a fine mix of achievers. This would ensure enhanced debate-quality Management and Board meetings that help forge clarity and effectiveness of reform initiatives to boost depth and impact of FMBN affordable drive.
Consider Umar Zubaida, the new Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services, an active member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and the Institute of Credit Administration of Nigeria. She is a graduate of world-class universities including the famous Robert Gordon University Business School, Scotland, where she obtained an MSc in International trade. She also holds a BSc in Business Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Zubaida has over 20 years of financial advisory as well as strategy development and project management experience in domestic debt management and mortgage banking in Nigeria.
Until she was appointed Executive Director, Mrs. Umar was the FMBN General Manager, Zonal Coordination FCT where she was instrumental in implementing various reform processes. She had also overseen the execution of high-value projects ranging from technological and process solutions to, the design of organizational architecture all aimed at instituting best practice protocols in the bank. Mrs. Umar has held other top management positions with the bank. She was at various times Group Head, corporate communications, Head, Policy, and Strategy as well as Head of organizational resourcing of the FMBN.
The new ED has attended various courses in leadership, advanced management, and executive management, including securitization and Housing Finance Programs at the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA; Communication/ project Management in Nevada, USA: Affordable Housing programs in Malaysia; Mortgage Banking Strategies in Singapore and several other courses in the United Kingdom.
Next is Mustapha Lukman Olayiwola, the new Executive Director, Loans & Mortgage Services (L&MS). Mustapha is a seasoned banker, professional accountant, and entrepreneur. He has over 25 years of cognate experience in a wide range of professions. This includes retail, agency, commercial, and mortgage banking; business development and relationship management, strategic planning, and financial/risk management. He also has expert-level competencies in development financial mobilization and structuring, effective team leadership, change management, advanced corporate business negotiations, and strategy.
Before he was appointed as the Executive Director, Loans & Mortgage Services (L&MS), Mustapha was the Divisional Head, Business & Commercial Banking with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc. In this position, he was responsible for driving the implementation of the Bank’s Business and Commercial Banking strategy. This involved managing the Bank’s relationship with customers, providing leadership and direction to the Division, and ensuring the Bank’s prominence in identified sectors. He was also responsible for providing a full spectrum of financial services to clients, boosting liquidity and profitability, sales strategy development, staff capacity building, and ensuring that the Bank’s business activities/processes are streamlined to achieve stated corporate objectives and goals.
Other aspects of his responsibilities as the FCMB Divisional Head included overseeing & driving the execution of strategic business development and relationship management within the various Business Segments in the Region and the creation of low risks portfolio, development of an effective liability generation system amongst other related management functions.
Mustapha’s over 25-years career spans several financial institutions. Starting from SGBN in 1992, Dynasty Group in 1994, FMBN in 1996, NAL Merchant Bank in 1997, Inland Bank in 2001, FinBank Plc in 2006 to FCMB Plc in 2008 till his appointment, Mustapha initiated and oversaw the execution of multi-billion-naira projects and built a remarkable portfolio of accomplishments and impact.
The third Executive Director is Kingsley Chukwuma. Kingsley brings over 20 years of professional experience in Information Technology (IT), Engineering, and Project Management in Nigeria and Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering from the University of Benin, Edo State as well as certifications in business administration, from Lakeland Institute, Alberta, Canada.
Non-Executive Board Members include Asein Abimbola representing the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing; Ejezie Sandra Nkechi, representing the Public.
A Historic Blend of Diversity and Professionals
At the inauguration ceremony at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in Abuja on Thursday, 21 April 2022, the Hon. Minister of Works and Housing rightfully noted that the composition of the Board and Executive Management Team is historic at many levels. First, the new FMBN Board has the highest composition of persons who are either Bankers by training or Bankers by profession. Second, the Board has three women from the one in the past Board. Thirdly, every region of the country is represented. The Minister advised them to see this multi-level diversity as a strength that they need to leverage to deliver on the FMBN mandate of providing affordable housing to Nigerians nationwide.
In sum, the educational profiles, wide array of professional experiences, and the politically diverse composition of the new FMBN Board and Management as well as the determination of the Hon. Minister of Works and Housing to set FMBN on the path of impact provides a strong basis for optimism. As the team settles in on the job, they deserve the support of all stakeholders, partners, and related housing development finance institutions to enable them to meet expectations. A stronger and more vibrant FMBN is key to growing the Nigerian housing market, ensuring access to affordable housing for Nigerians, and tackling the worrisome and increasing housing deficit.
*John T. Ikyaave is a housing policy analyst based in Abuja
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” A stronger and more vibrant FMBN is key to growing the Nigerian housing market, ensuring access to affordable housing for Nigerians, and tackling the worrisome and increasing housing deficit”
