Tujoromajo Kasuto
THE Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) regulated 599 entities with total assets worth N$368.6 billion during the first quarter of 2022, shows a 0.5% decrease from the asset value of N$370.6 billion recorded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021.
This is contained in the Namfisa Quarterly Statistical Report for the first quarter of 2022, released yesterday.
The report provides industry statistics, the latest industry trends and developments and also information regarding Namfisa’s regulatory and supervisory activities during the quarter under review.
According to the report, ‘’the non-banking financial institutions assets increased annually by 8 percent to N$368.6 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022 and decreased quarterly by 0.5 percent from N$370.6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in assets is mainly due to a worsening performance in the financial markets,’’ the report states.
The long-term insurance (LTI) industry’s total assets increased by 0.4 percent quarterly and by 6.7 percent yearly to N$67 billion as at 31 March 2022,
‘’The positive performance in the industry’s investments and cash and cash equivalent mainly contributed to the increase in the value of the total assets for both periods,’’ the report says.
On the other hand, the short-term insurance (STI) industry’s total assets declined by 2 percent quarterly and by 6.3 percent yearly to N$7 billion as of 31 March 2022.
‘’A significant decline in the non-current investments can be observed, owing to one insurer that changed its accounting policy for investments in subsidiaries in line with the IAS 8 Accounting Standard,’’ the report reads.
The medical aid industry held total assets of N$2.2 billion as at 31 March 2022, a decrease of 4.9 percent from the previous quarter and a decrease of 8.6 percent on an annual basis.
Additionally, ‘’the claims (healthcare expenditure) and non-healthcare expenditure reported during the first quarter of 2022 were slightly higher than the expenditure reported during the previous quarter and the industry’s investment of N$2 billion at 31March 2022 is considered adequate to withstand any adverse claims experiences that may result from increased liabilities,’’ NAMFISA reports.
The investment managers’ assets under management increased by 1.5 percent on a quarterly basis and by 8.4 percent on an annual basis to N$211 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The increase in assets under management was mainly due to a combination of new investments and investment income reinvestment, the report explains.
Meanwhile, the Collective Investment Schemes’ (CIS) assets under management stood at N$78.2 billion, representing a decrease of two percent on a quarterly basis and a marginal increase of 0.1 percent on a yearly basis.
Moreover, in terms of geographic allocation, Namibian domiciled assets constituted 54.6 percent, investments in the Common Monetary Area (CMA) constituted 32.7 percent, investments in the offshore market constituted 11.9 percent, and the remaining 0.8 percent was invested in Africa at the end of the quarter under review.
Investments in Namibia increased by 5.1 percent on a quarterly basis and by 13.4 percent on an annual basis to N$115.2 billion, and investment in the CMA increased by 1.4 percent on a quarterly basis and by 6.9 percent on an annual basis to N$68.95 billion at the end of the review period.
The microlending industry’s value of the loan book (outstanding value) increased by one percent on a quarterly basis and by 8.1 percent on an annual basis to N$7.4 billion.
‘’This trajectory on a quarterly and annual basis in the value of the stock of the loan book was mainly reflected in arrears; in contrast, the monetary value of the disbursement declined over the same period,’’ the report states.
The total value of the loan book continued to be mainly dominated by term lenders that rose by 0.9 percent quarter-on-quarter and by 8.5 percent year-on-year to N$7.1 billion, according to Namfisa.
Additionally, Namfisa states that this accounted for 97 percent of the total share.
According to the report, NAMFISA’s Consumer Complaints Department received 199 complaints from consumers of financial services during the period under review where 80.4% of the complaints were resolved, by the end of March 2022.
Consequently, an amount of N$1.4 million was paid out to complainants during the review period.
