Banking sector remained resilient, sound during 2019 – central bank
The banking sector remained resilient and sound during 2019, amidst the weakened domestic economy, the central bank said in a report.
The Bank of Namibia (BoN) last week Friday released its annual report for 2019, which highlighted that the capital of banks remained strong during 2019 and supported the balance sheet expansion and risk coverage.
“The banks’ liquid asset holdings remained adequate to meet near-term obligations. Due to the unfavorable domestic economic conditions, asset quality deteriorated, as the ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) increased from 3.6 percent of total loans in 2018 to 4.8 percent in 2019,” Bank of Namibia Interim Governor Ebson Uanguta said.
Uanguta said the increase in NPLs was observed in mortgages, overdrafts and other loans and advances, while he noted that banks’ profitability nevertheless remained intact.
Meanwhile, overall the report noted that the financial performance of the central bank in 2019 improved when compared to 2018.
