FNB ready to help economic recovery

Toivo Ndjembela in Johannesburg - First National Bank (FNB) last week reacted to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila’s vision of – once elected to the presidential office – turning around the economy by tapping into the huge reserves of commercial banks, pension funds and insurance companies. The bank’s executives, including CEO Jacques Celliers, made this commitment when answering a Namibia Media Holdings’ question on whether the bank will be willing to participate in the scheme proposed by Kuugongelwa-Amadhila in an interview on The Agenda, which premiered last night on NTV. On the show, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila was asked to share her vision for the stuttering Namibian economy, should she win the race for the Swapo vice-presidency at next month’s elective congress and eventually the 2024 national presidential election. “This situation can be turned around. While we may not have a lot of money in government coffers, Namibia has massive savings in local insurance companies, pension funds and even commercial banks,” she explained. “Through public-private partnerships, we can actually direct these funds into the Namibian economy so that we improve services to the Namibian people, revive the economy and boost the construction industry.” The prime minister added: “We need young people with energy and skills – combined with the resources that we have in the private sector – to turn around the situation.” READY TO PARTNER On the sidelines of FNB’s rebranding events held in Johannesburg late last week, the bank’s chief operating officer, Mary Vilakazi, with Celliers concurring, said the bank is ready to partner the Namibian government to place the country on an accelerated development trajectory. Vilakazi said: “We take our responsibility as a bank very seriously because we understand the role we play in the Namibian economy. We are very much tied to fiscal conditions that we might find ourselves operating under in any country we operate in, and we have the ability to unlock growth in the economy.” “So we very much welcome policies and the thinking that says how do we get private sector capital, how do we get those funds that are sitting with asset managers that are looking for long-term projects, which is really going to unlock growth and opportunities, particularly in Namibia.” POLICIES Namibia has endured stunted growth since 2016, with successive droughts and the Covid-19 pandemic partly credited for the troubles. With investment into the economy slow and unemployment rates soaring, Namibia is desperate to pull herself out of the doldrums. Vilakazi says as long as Namibia has policies that would enable institutions like FNB to unleash their potential, the country should remain optimistic. “How are we going to get policies that would enable us to plough a lot of resources that we are sitting on? We take our role as an active participant in the economy seriously because we know it’s our role.” “So we would welcome those policies but there has to be enough demand for the role that banks play. We are prepared to engage and help. We have enough resources to deploy into the Namibian economy.” NEW ERA On Friday FNB unveiled its new logo, which Celliers said was to mark the bank’s journey of change and innovation. “Our efforts to transition beyond banking are still deeply rooted in our promise of helping customers with advice they can trust, solutions that are easy to use and safe, and a brand that is relevant at every life stage,” he said, amid a carnival atmosphere at FNB Bank City complex. In a parallel event in Windhoek, FNB Namibia CEO Erwin Tjipuka said: “FNB is no stranger to change. For nearly 115 years in Namibia, we have led the way in solving financial challenges for Namibians.” “Over time, we have definitely not only embraced change but have begun to actively seek it out and innovate and deliver contextual solutions that delight customers. Change is as much a part of our DNA as is being helpful. In pro-actively managing and embracing change together - our customers’ success has been our success too,” Tjipuka added. Apart from the revised logo, the bank has also unified the look of its web portal and its app. Other changes include customers now having greater control over their home page when logging in. The bank is also introducing a new feature called Money Protect. This is free insurance that covers certain fraud-related losses that may happen through the FNB app or through its ATMs. - Additional reporting by Jo-Maré Duddy and Hypertext