BoN wants local bank ownership

Ogone Tlhage - The Bank of Namibia (BoN) is in a drive to encourage local ownership of yet-to-be established commercial banks. This will see a change to some aspects of the banking law but will not force existing local banks to cede ownership to local shareholders, central bank spokesperson Israel Zemburuka told Market Watch this week.If passed, the requirement would only apply to new banking institutions, he said. “The Bank of Namibia has proposed legislative changes to the banking law, which once promulgated, will take into consideration local participation in newly established banking institutions.“However, any amendment to existing laws would not be applied retrospectively to existing commercial banks who ... have made a voluntary undertaking in regard to local participation in ownership,” he said.“Given the unique strategic nature of the banking industry to the economy, it is imperative that Namibia has a fair share of locally owned and managed institutions. The Bank of Namibia continues to advocate and support measures to make this a reality,” he said.Zemburuka also pointed out that commercial banks had initiated the idea of ceding partial ownership to local participants in line with the Namibia Financial Sector Charter.GIPF“It must be borne in mind that the financial sector has made a voluntary commitment to increase local ownership and participation in terms of the Namibia Financial Sector Charter. As part of this commitment, commercial banks agreed to cede 25% of shareholding to locals,” Zemburuka said.The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) is heavily invested in both FNB Namibia (14.8%) and Bank Windhoek (26%). Both FNB Namibia (through FNB Namibia Holdings) and Bank Windhoek (through Capricorn Investment Group) are also listed on the local index of the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX). Standard Bank recently initiated a share incentive programme for its employees and established a special-purpose vehicle, named Purros. Through Purros, local ownership in Standard Bank Namibia will be propped up by 10%.Recently listed Letshego Namibia Holdings invited the public to participate in its initial public offering (IPO) by acquiring its shares on the NSX. More than 3 600 applicants applied for shareholding through its Ekwafo Letu IPO.Old Mutual, which owns Nedbank, is in the process of divesting from the commercial bank.

BoN wants local bank ownership

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-08-29

Please login to leave a comment

BoN wants local bank ownership

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-08-29

Please login to leave a comment

Login