Central bank’s financial performance improves in 2022
The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) financial performance for 2022 improved significantly compared to 2021, according to the bank’s annual report for 2022 launched on Wednesday.
Favorable interest rates during 2022 and the increase in the bank’s reserves balance contributed to the improvement in the financial performance, the report noted.
“The bank continues to efficiently manage its operational expenditure and thus was able to declare a dividend of N$413.7 million to the State Revenue Fund, which is consistent with the dividend declared previously” the report noted.
According to the report despite a challenging global climate, the central bank pursued a contractionary monetary policy in 2022, to strike a balance between anchoring inflation expectations and supporting the domestic economic recovery.
The BoN Governor, Johannes Gawaxab in a statement further said Namibia’s overall financial system remained stable, sound, and resilient enough to withstand elevated risks and vulnerabilities emanating from the global and domestic economic and financial environment.
“Both the banking and non-bank financial institutions continued to perform adequately and remained profitable for most of 2022,” he added.
Going forward, Gawaxab said for Namibia to mitigate the economic impact of global shocks and protect vulnerable groups, the prioritization of the building of fiscal buffers will be required as an immediate policy action.
“Looking to the future, it is important for Namibia to preserve the integrity of its financial system by remedying the gaps identified in the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Framework,” he added.
The launched 2022 Bank of Namibia Annual Report ran under the theme: “Global Economic Shocks: Rewiring Namibia to Bolster Resilience”.
