Nedbank not pressed to localise
'Timing is important'
Nedbank says the process to increase local ownership in its Namibian operation must be driven by logic.
Nedbank’s executive for Africa Terrance Sibiya says the banking group will take a responsible approach towards localising its Namibian operations. He made the comments during a conference call following the release of the banking group’s results, and said a decision to increase local ownership in the bank should not come at the expense of future intended shareholders who would have to bear the brunt of acquiring shareholding in the Namibian operations.
“For any transaction of this type, timing is important. You do not want to indebt shareholders,” Sibiya said.
While Nedbank was cognisant of moves its peers had made around localisation, according to the executive, there was a notable difference in the characteristics of the various banks that may have listed on the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX), or had gone the employee share scheme route.
“Talks are constantly being held. Our peers may be doing that, but it is important for an institution to take its own pace. Our balance sheets do not look similar,” he said of the intended localisation.
Nedbank currently maintains a dual-listing on the NSX and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where it is primarily listed.
Localisation guidelines
In 2009, the finance ministry launched the financial sector charter, a voluntarily-adopted transformation charter.
Among its outcomes is that the object is to achieve substantial change in the racial and gender composition of ownership, control and management structures in skilled occupations of current and new enterprises in the financial sector.
More recently, the Bank of Namibia set a legal framework reserving a minimum threshold stake of 25% in all commercial banks for locals.
The numbers
The Nedbank Group delivered a relatively strong financial performance for the six months to 30 June 2024 amid a challenging operating environment as headline earnings (HE) increased by 8% year-on-year to N$7.9 billion, while its return on equity increased to 15%, compared to 14.2% witnessed in the same period in 2023.
The increase in HE was underpinned by good non-interest revenue growth, a lower impairment charge and targeted expense management, partially offset by muted net interest income growth and lower associate income.