Namfisa investigates bank’s fund

THE Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) is launching its own investigation into the Standard Bank Namibia Retirement Fund to find out whether alleged miscalculations have indeed cost members millions in benefits.

Lily Brandt, the acting chief executive officer of Namfisa, told The Namibian on Friday that the watchdog has requested the necessary information from the fund to investigate the matter.”We need to take up the issue,” Brandt said.Namfisa will look into claims by ISG Risk Services, a local forensic investigating firm, that the actuarial reserve values (ARVs) of as many as 995 members were incorrectly calculated when the Standard Bank Namibia Retirement Fund switched over from a defined-benefit fund to a defined-contribution fund in 2000. ISG believes that the total losses suffered by fund members in the process could be at least N$42 million.ISG, acting on behalf of more than 100 fund members, asked Namfisa to intervene after numerous failed attempts to brief the trustees of the Standard Bank Namibia Retirement Fund on their findings and concerns. Among other things, ISG is worried that the applicable data might be tampered with if the trustees do not get their hands on the original facts and figures in time.ISG presented the findings of their investigation to Namfisa on January 25.The Standard Bank Namibia Retirement Fund has also launched its own investigation into the matter, the result of which is not yet known.