Martin Endjala
For the year ended 31 March 2024, the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority’s (NAMFISA) total income stood at N$279.5 million while the agency’s total expenditures were N$254.7 million.
Other comprehensive income amounted to N$12.8 million, resulting in a total surplus of N$37.7 million, compared with a budgeted deficit of N$16.6 million.
Kenneth Matomola, the agency’s chief executive officer, announced these figures while he launched its 2024 Annual Report on Thursday in Windhoek.
“As of 31 March 2024, the Group’s total assets increased by N$34.4 million (11.3%) to N$339 million. This increase is attributable to an increase of N$25.1 million in investment and call account balances due to surplus cash from increased levy collection and an increase of N$18.8 million in property plant and equipment due to additional assets purchased and an extension of the property lease term,” he said.
He said NAMFISA achieved 63% of its targets as per its 2022-2027 strategic plan, with only 37% remaining to reach 100% to date.
According to Matomola, the five-year strategic plan has 11 outlined targets that aim to improve operational efficiency, stakeholder engagement, and financial stability, amongst others.
He said the group’s total expenditure for the review period was N$254.6 million, a decrease of N$5.9 million (2.3%) compared to the prior financial year.
Staff costs, which comprise the largest share of the total expenditure at 74%, decreased by 0.9% to N$189.4 million.
NAMFISA’s total liabilities decreased by N$3.2 million (2.7%) to N$115.3 million.
This decrease is primarily attributable to a reduction of N$4.6 million (10.3%) in the post-retirement benefit obligation.
“The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in legal costs of N$5.3 million (78.4%) owing to fewer payments towards litigation than the prior year, a decrease of N$4.4 million (147%) in excepted credit losses due to improved collection of levies, and employee costs decreased by N$1.8 million due to a reduction in performance bonuses,” he said.
Additionally, Matomola stated that training and development expenditures significantly declined compared to the previous year. Legal costs decreased by N$5.3 million (78.4%) owing to fewer payments towards litigations than in the prior year.
During the review period, levy income amounted to N$255.5 million, representing an increase of N$26.6 million (11.6%) compared to the previous financial year.
He said this increase in levy income indicates that the non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) remained financially stable, sound, and resilient.
The outstanding loan book value grew by 6.1%, reaching N$7.2 billion at the end of 2023.
Term lenders accounted for the majority of the loan book’s value, amounting to N$6.9 billion, or approximately 96% of the total share, similar to the previous year.
“The microlending loan book experienced a year-on-year increase in value by the end of 2023, which was mirrored in disbursement figures. Significantly, the rise in disbursement value was driven by term lenders, while payday lenders experienced a decline in disbursed amounts during the same period,” said the CEO.
Consequently, although newly issued loans rose, borrowers decreased by the end of 2023 at 9.3%.
The authority was able to resolve 91.0% of the 691 received complaints. This represented a decrease in the resolution rate, compared with the 94.9% for resolved complaints recorded in 2022.
Due to its intervention, the total amount paid to complainants increased significantly from N$9.0 million to N$14.7 million as of 31 December 2023. This amount was paid out to 172 complainants.
The pension fund industry recovered the largest amount, totaling N$12.1 million.
