FNB celebrates 110 years in Namibia

From humble beginnings in Lüderitz in 1907 with only 12 employees, FNB Namibia has grown into a leading bank in the country and through active up-skilling and localisation programmes today proudly employs more than 2 200 Namibian citizens, providing banking services via 55 branches and agencies throughout Namibia, while providing multifaceted financial services and products to the nation.
Sarel van Zyl, CEO of FNB Namibia Holdings Group: “It is with great pride that we celebrate 110 years in our beautiful country and look back at a numerous highlights over the years, which have made us the most innovative bank in the country.”
In 1997 FNB Namibia became the first locally registered bank to be listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). Market capitalisation has soared from N$167.2 million to N$8.8 billion in 18 years, making it the biggest listed entity on the NSX. “We are proud to say that we have delivered consistent earnings growth and created value for all our stakeholders.”
Other – more recent - highlights include FNB Namibia being the first bank in Namibia to successfully roll-out 46 Automated Deposit Taking ATMS to date, with an average processing volume of 56 000 deposits over the past three months - after hours and over weekends. “In Namibia, we have around 4 274 active point of sale terminals, and of those 1 290 are ready to launch our CASH-Back on POS later in 2017 to take banking to remote areas around the country,” says Van Zyl.
On the electronic banking front, FNB Namibia has been the pioneer with services and products that have made banking easy and convenient for our customers. These innovations include cellphone banking, online banking, the FNB App and eWallet, to name but a few.
Since the inception of eWallet, FNB Namibia has a base of 1 171 507 wallets and the number of transacting wallets for May 2017 stood at 378 552. “We have recently acquired EBank, giving our customers the capability to remotely open accounts via cellphones, transfer cash in and out using only cellphones, while transacting through 120 agents’ country-wide.”
FNB Holdings, has also recently acquired Pointbreak to form Ashburton Investments, and together with RMB (its corporate and investment bank), WesBank (its installment finance business), and FNB (its retail and commercial bank), now offers the most comprehensive and end-to-end financial services group in Namibia.
The FNB Namibia Holdings Foundation Trust remains committed to help improve the quality of communities and environments in which it operates by investing through partnership. It regards social corporate responsibility as an integral part of its corporate business practice. “Over the last 13 years, we have invested N$64 million in the areas of skills development, education and financial literacy, community and health development, environmental guardianship, and primary health care”, according to Van Zyl.
“For the past nine years – and eight consecutively – we have been named ‘Bank of the Year’ in Namibia, as announced by The Banker Magazine in London. We take this award very seriously as it highlights our overall commitment to all our stakeholders and proves that we are on the right track. With the vision of being a great Namibian business creating a better world, the FNB Group is cemented by the values of ‘I’m Innovative, I’m Accountable, I’m Helpful, I’m Ethical, and I’m Effective’. We remain committed to improving banking and look forward to creating more value for all our stakeholders,” he says.