Living Trust Mortgage Bank Posts Record Annual Profit Amid Higher Interest Rates

Living Trust Mortgage Bank Plc has posted a record profit growth even amid high interest rates that damps home-buyers appetite from owning properties.

The mortgage bank that has won multiple awards saw its full-year 2023 net income surge by 484.69 percent to N909.15 million, from N236.33 million as at December 2022.

Gross earnings followed the same growth trajectory as it spiked by 216.88 percent to N2.53 billion in December 2023 from N801.22 million the previous year.

Interest and similar income surged by 254.39 percent to N1.86 billion in the period under review from N524.84 million as at December 2022.

The impressive performance comes amid a challenging business environment as a red-hot inflation forces the central bank to embark on an aggressive tightening cycle, ballooning mortgage rates, which means consumers are unable to buy properties.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the benchmark interest rate (MPR) by 25 basis points to 18.75 percent from its initial 18.5 percent, representing the highest interest rate in 22 years.

In November 2023, the overall inflation rate rose to 28.20 percent, surpassing the October 2023 rate of 27.33 percent. This indicates a month-on-month increase of 0.87 percent.

Living Trust Mortgage Bank has N13 billion loans in its balance-sheet, which is 21.74 percent to N10.67 billion as at December 2022.

The Bank   fully repaid an N950 million MSMEs grant to the Development Bank of Nigeria two months ahead of the due date.

DBN disbursed the N950 million MSMEs fund to the bank on March 1, 2021, for a tenor of 36 months, with the facility expected to lapse on March 1, 2024.

However, the Bank successfully paid off the grant two months earlier in January 2024.

“This is another testament to our unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and keeping the trust of our funding partners. We have never missed a repayment to our partners, DBN, NMRC, FMBN, and others. At LivingTrust, we take excellence as a priority, making it easier for us to fulfil our purpose,” Adekunle Adewole, managing director and CEO of the Bank.

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