WINDHOEK –The latest annual report from the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa), which was released last Thursday, indicates that the authority’s total income for the 2017/18 financial year was N$149.4 million, which was 35 percent, or N$80.4 million, lower than the budgeted amount of N$229.8 million.
Releasing the 2017/18 annual report in the capital, Namfisa CEO Kenneth Matomola noted that the variance in total income is due to the Namfisa levy income falling below budget. This, he said, was because Namfisa’s new levy structure only became effective on November 1, 2017, as per the Government Notice No. 265 of 2017. “Nonetheless, the authority implemented cost savings measures aimed at ensuring financial sustainability during the reporting period,” he said.
Matomola noted that the authority’s total expenditure for 2017/18 was N$201.7 million, which represents a saving of N$28.1 million compared to the budget of N$229.8 million. In this regard, he stated that Namfisa utilised its meagre financial resources prudently.
The annual report further indicates that during the year under review Namfisa received a total of 990 complaints, representing an increase of 26.3 percent from the previous year. As a result of complaints, a total of N$59.9 million was reimbursed to complainants following Namfisa’s intervention. The nature of complaints received included non-cancellation of contracts, non- payment of pension benefits, non-payment of pension contributions and repudiation of insurance claims. During the media briefing in the capital to present the annual report, Matomola stated: “The Non-bank Financial Institutions” (NBFIs) remain sound and healthy and no systemic vulnerabilities were identified in the financial system as the NBFIs balance sheets remained financially sound, well capitalised and solvent.”
He continued that overall, NBFIs remained financially stable and sound as reflected in Namfisa’s collected data. Further, the industry continued to grow its assets by 18 percent from N$243.7 billion to N$287.5 billion, despite recessionary economic conditions.
Namfisa also conducted 41 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) / Combating the Financing of terrorism (CFT) / Combating of Proliferation Financing (CPF) on-site compliance assessments on institutions from various sectors during 2017. In this regard, Namfisa employed a risk-based approach, which is aligned to the 2012 National Risk and Threat Assessment, in conducting the valuations, and thus commenced measuring the high to medium-risk sectors.
Matomola continued that Namfisa expended great effort to meet its statutory responsibilities during the 2017/18 financial year. To this end, the authority made progress towards tabling several bills such as the Financial Services Adjudicator (FSA), the Financial Institutions and Markets (FIM), Usury Act Amendment, and the Namfisa and Microlending bills. He further revealed that the effective implementation of risk-based supervision (RBS), operational efficiency and consumer protection are priority areas for the remaining years of its 5-year strategy ending in the year 2022.