‘Housing for all remains our core vision’

The managing director, Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, Ben Akaneme, has said the company is alive to its vision of housing for all.

Akaneme made the commitment in Lagos during the unveiling, to the media, of the organisation’s new identity to Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited from GTHomes Limited.

He explained that homeownership was every responsible person’s dream, saying that a time comes in a man’s life when he can no longer stay in his father’s house, no matter the comfort such a place offers him.

“There is a phenomenon that happens in human life, that is the phenomenon of house ownership. Every mature individual has to own a house, either by careful planning or by circumstance. There is a time in a man’s life that he just cannot continue to live in his family house. He has to move. It could be through careful planning or circumstantial,” Akaneme said.

Explaining the evolution of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank, the managing director said: “In compliance with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations and circulars in 2010 revoking universal banking practice in Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank plc (GTBank) divested from its subsidiaries including GTHomes Limited. The shares of GTHomes owned by GTBank prior to the divestment were acquired in 2012 by a select group of investors through a special purpose vehicle. This provides the bank a fresh opportunity and imperative for achieving its internal goals and mission of being the leading Mortgage Bank out of Africa.”

He added that in line with the divestment by GTBank and as with GT Assurance, GTB Asset Management, and GTB Registrars which changed their names to Mansard Insurance, Investment One, and DataMax, respectively, GTHomes Limited was required to change to a new name.

Akaneme further emphasised that the company still retained the core of its offerings, namely: savings and loans, real estate, mortgages and finance.

“As we have done through the years, our goal will continue to be the provision of excellent services. The core values that GTHomes inherited from GTBank remain the guiding principles for Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited. We remain the same people, the same institution operating with the same core values and principles despite our name change,” the managing director said, adding that the new identity “expresses” the company’s “identification with the vision of housing for all”.

On the logo which, even though it has been enhanced, retains its essence, Akaneme said: “It is still a brief description of our brand. The orange and grey continue to represent our friendly, professional and trustworthy nature. The four sides of the box (represented by the acronym – FIQS) signify our customer focus, customer service, innovativeness and total quality management while the ‘I’ in the box represents our intensity and single-minded focus on our customers. For us, the only thing that matters is our highly esteemed imperial customers.

Zebulon Agomuo