Trustco Finance negotiates N$345 million deal with German lenders for student funding
The German Investment Bank, DEG (Deutsche Investitions und Entwickelungsgesellschaft), together with the German Development Bank, KfW (Kreditanstallt fuer Wiederafbau) has just extended Trustco Finance another US$20 million credit facility in addition to the N$550 million it has lent Trustco since 2012.
The loan translates to approximately N$345 million. Its approval is subject to an agreement which Trustco is currently negotiating with the DEG.
Trustco Group Holdings Limited, the ultimate parent listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the OTCQX in New York, said this week in a SENS published on the JSE, the new credit will be applied for student financing offered by subsidiary Trustco Finance to help new students obtain loans for study, to help existing students to restructure their study debt in light of the constraints caused by the lockdown, and also to improve Trustco’s own in-house educational facility, the Institute for Open Learning (IOL).
Trustco’s Head of Education, Ilana Calitz, stated, “IOL welcomes fresh funding for Namibian education,” adding that one of the ultimate objectives of the DEG facility is to enhance job security within Trustco’s educational businesses.
On the future of education, she said “the distance education model has proven to be in high demand during the current pandemic. I am confident that a new hybrid model of education will emerge and distance education will become an integral part of the educational industry.”
Trustco stated that the new loan will improve its capital structure and liquidity and provide the company with ample resources to service Namibian borrowers in a time of great need. It is in line with Trustco’s previously communicated plan to redesign its funding structure to ensure access to funding to meet the large demand from Namibian students.
