By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – Lionel Matthews, Managing Director of Nedbank Namibia Limited, has assumed the BAN chairmanship as of yesterday, the Bankers’ Association of Namibia (BAN) has announced.
Matthews takes over from Sarel van Zyl, Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank Namibia.
Upon his appointment, Matthews said he remains excited at the value that the banking industry can add to the lives of Namibian people.
“We have witnessed significant changes to the banking landscape during the past few years, which augurs well for the future of banking in our country. The localisation of banking platforms has meant significant investments for individual banks in their technological infrastructure and these capital commitments will ultimately benefit their clients,” said Matthews.
The new BAN chairperson also expressed appreciation for the guidance of the former Minister of Finance and now Prime Minister, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, under whose stewardship the Namibian Financial Sector Charter entrenched the way in which the banking industry continues to make meaningful contributions to the Namibian society.
“We look forward to engaging our new Minister of Finance, Calle Schlettwein, on matters of mutual concern,” Matthews said.
Outgoing BAN chairperson, Van Zyl, expressed his pride at BAN’s achievements over the past 12 months, with specific reference to welcoming two new member banks to the BAN ranks – Ebank and SME Bank, continuous communication of safety measures in banking to the public, with the BAN fraud prevention campaign during the past festive season as an imperative highlight, placing particular focus on bank transparency around bank fees and charges, launching the BAN website in March 2015 and implementation of several regulatory requirements such as identification requirements for deposits.
“I wish to thank the Bank of Namibia, as our regulator, and the Ministry of Finance, as our line ministry, for the excellent support BAN continues to receive from them and pledge that, as members of BAN, we will continue with its drive to ensure that more, if not all, Namibians have access to banking and can afford banking services, as we remain committed to improving financial inclusion by offering a safe, secure and affordable banking environment in our country,” said the outgoing BAN chairperson.
As incoming chairperson, Matthews has indicated his quest to continue establishing conducive working relationships with various stakeholders like Namfisa, Payments Association of Namibia (PAN), Bank of Namibia, Namclear, Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), Namibian Stock Exchange, Labour Commissioner, Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and Social Security Commission, as well as a range of ministries.