Select Page

Matthews to head Bankers Association

Lionel Matthews

The Bankers Association of Namibia (BAN) has announced that Lionel Matthews, Managing Director of Nedbank Namibia Limited, assumed the BAN chairmanship on the 1st of April.

Matthews takes over the chairmanship duties from Sarel van Zyl, Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank. Upon his appointment as BAN Chairman, Matthews said he remains excited at the value that the banking industry can add to the lives of the 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.
“We look forward to engaging our new Minister of Finance, Honourable Calle Schlettwein, on matters of mutual concern,” added Matthews. The outgoing Bankers Association of Namibia Chairman, Sarel van Zyl, expressed his pride at the achievements BAN was able to attain during the past twelve months, with specific reference to; welcoming two new member banks, SME Bank and Ebank respectively, placing particular focus on bank transparency around bank fees and charges, launching the BAN website in March 2015 and the 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 Bankers Association of Namibia 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 Chairman.

About The Author