Namibia hosts a modern, technologically sophisticated, relatively low-risk and highly profitable banking system led by private sector companies with links to other countries in the region. They offer a wide variety of services to retail and corporate clients including mortgages for residential and commercial property.

Banking Institutions

The Ministry of Finance and Social Grant Management and the Bank of Namibia (Namibia’s central bank) take the lead in determining policy and regulating Namibia’s banking industry while the Namibian Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) regulates the non-banking financial sector. The Ministry has been headed since March 2025 by the Honourable Ericah Shafudah. The Bank of Namibia has been headed since 2021 by Governor Johannes !Gawaxab. NAMFISA has been headed since 2016 by Kenneth Matomola. The Ministry, Bank of Namibia and NAMFISA published a document entitled “National Financial Sector Strategy 2011-2021: Toward Achieving Vision 2030 in 2012” which has guided policy towards the financial sector. FinScope produces periodic reports on financial inclusion, the last of which was published in 2017.

The Government has not been directly involved in the retail banking sector since the forced liquidation of its SME Bank in 2017 but owns the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) and the Development Bank of Namibia, neither of which are deposit-taking banks. Seven companies currently hold banking licences: Bank Windhoek (part of Namibia’s Capricorn Group), First National Bank of Namibia (part of South Africa’s FirstRand Group), Standard Bank Namibia (part of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group), Nedbank Namibia (part of South Africa’s Nedbank Group), Bank BIC Namibia (part of Angola’s BIC Group), Letshego Bank Namibia (a micro finance banking institution and part of Botswana’s Letshego Group), and Banco Atlántico (a branch of a foreign bank). The main retail and business banks are Bank Windhoek, FNB Namibia, Standard Bank Namibia, and Nedbank Namibia, the first three of which have significant Namibian shareholdings and are also listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange. They all offer a wide range of modern banking services to retail and corporate clients. The Bank of Namibia produces informative Annual Reports, Annual Financial Stability, and Quarterly Bulletins which provide a wealth of detail about Namibia’s banking sector. Namibia also has a small but growing fintech sector including companies such as Mobipay, JABU and Buddy.