DBN loan book hits N$8 billion mark

The Development Bank of Namibia’s (DBN) loan book has now hit the N$8 billion dollar mark.

Chief executive officer Martin Inkumbi says the financial institution has also secured about N$450 million to assist companies that have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was speaking on Desert Radio yesterday.

While expressing confidence with the bank’s loan book, which has grown to N$8 billion over the years, Inkumbi raised concerns at the high repayment rate.

“It is not a crisis and we are seeing stability in it, in the level of impairment and non performing loans,” he said.

He reiterated that the bank is now adequately capitalised to sustain its operations.

“The bank is adequately financed and has enough liquidity, and for the time being it’s not a question of money, we actually have enough money that we want to give to potential businesses. What we are looking for are bankable plans,” he said.

He said the bank has worked hard to maintain a positive reputation and image through the implementation of adequate corporate governance policies.

“We have also heard people talk about these issues of losing their plans but we have never seen a single person who came with proof to us, I must also add that we have since appointed an independent whistle-blower’s office to stem out corruption. It is also important to note that the approval of loans at the bank are not done by a single person and even the CEO does not have an influence, so there is no way that individuals can have an influence on the process,” he said.

He added that the bank is working in partnership with other developmental financial institutions in Africa and the world, to deal with bigger loan requirements.

He says the bank’s funding will be at concessional interests, just below 6% fixed for a period of five years but may also be extended.

He said the enterprises will, however, need to provide evidence that as a result of the pandemic, they were not able to generate the same level of revenue as before.

“This means they are unable to meet their operational expenses but they have expectations that in the near future they are able to do so. This kind of funding is bridging finance,” he said.

The CEO said they have also adopted a raft of measures to cushion businesses from losses incurred since the emergence of the pandemic.

The bank has given repayment holidays to all borrowers operating in the hospitality industry, who are still enjoying the repayment holiday to date.

This holiday will however end at the end of March.

“We have given them a breathing space because of the absence of tourists and the fact that they were not able to generate revenue to be able to honour their commitments. Those are some of the measures we have extended,” he said.

DBN restructures loans on a case by case basis when enterprises approach the bank.

“These may include reducing payment to only service interests depending on the needs of the enterprises.

“Those are some of the measures we have implemented, and a number of enterprises have benefited, either from repayment holidays or Covid-19 relief measures,” Inkumbi said.

DBN has also managed to secure N$4,5 billion from the African Development Bank, and the money has been channelled in the Namibian economy.

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