Bank Windhoek
Bank Windhoek Limited, commonly referred to as Bank Windhoek, is a commercial bank operating in the Namibian market. Bank Windhoek conducts business as a registered bank and provides comprehensive banking services to its clients in Namibia. While being an autonomous Namibian company, the bank also provides international banking services through direct liaison with financial centres and institutions worldwide. Bank Windhoek is one of the commercial banks licensed to operate in Namibia by the Bank of Namibia, the national banking regulator.
 | |
 | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Windhoek, Namibia |
Key people | Johan Swanepoel (Chairman) Baronice Hans (Managing Director)[1] |
| Products | Loans Checking Savings Investments |
| Total assets | N$ 31.9 billion (December 2016) |
Number of employees | 1494+ (2017) |
| Parent | Capricorn Group |
| Website | www |
Bank Windhoek has a strong track record of making banking more accessible in remote areas of Namibia. Of all commercial banks operating in the country, Bank Windhoek has the largest branch network and footprint across Namibia. As of July 2017, Bank Windhoek has 55 branches, agencies and specialist branches countrywide. The bank also has a corporate and institutional banking division with offices in Windhoek, Oshakati and Walvis Bay. Bank Windhoek offers foreign exchange services throughout its branches and through a joint venture with American Express, which has various outlets in Namibia. Bank Windhoek has 112 ATMs across Namibia and 220 Bank Windhoek Cash Express ATMs installed at merchants countrywide in partnership with ATM Solutions Namibia.
Bank Windhoek was established in 1982, when a group of Namibian entrepreneurs took over eight local branches of Volkskas Bank. The aim was to create a financially independent bank for Namibians in Namibia. Over the years, Bank Windhoek has built a strong financial position and achieved remarkable growth.
Overview
As of December 2016, Bank Windhoek reported total assets of N$31. 9 billion (Source document: Bank Windhoek Interim Results December 2016).
Bank Windhoek is the largest entity under the umbrella of Capricorn Investment Group Limited, branded as "Capricorn Group", a Namibian financial services group listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange, with interests in banking, insurance, asset management, investments and micro finance. Until May 2017, Capricorn Group was a subsidiary of Capricorn Investment Holdings Limited (CIH).
The company has a unitary board, consisting of executive, non-executive and independent directors. Currently, eight members constitute the board of Bank Windhoek, including one executive director and four independent non-executive directors. Bank Windhoek is the flagship brand of Capricorn Group.
Ownership
Bank Windhoek is a 100% subsidiary of Capricorn Group. The two largest shareholders of Capricorn Group are Capricorn Investment Holdings (CIH), which holds a 41% shareholding in Capricorn Group and the Government Institutions Pension Fund, which holds 25.9%.
Bank Windhoek contributes more than 95% of the total income of Capricorn Group and represents more than 89% of the group's net asset value.
BW Finance, a subsidiary of Bank Windhoek, is the vehicle through which the group does its micro lending business, which is a separate entity, as per regulation.
Bank Windhoek is the only bank operating in the Namibian market with close to 100% Namibian ownership.
| Entity | Shares |
|---|---|
| Capricorn Investment Holdings Ltd (CIH) | 40.7% |
| Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) | 26% |
| Nam-mic Financial Services Holdings (Pty) Ltd | 9.9% |
| Capricorn Group Employee Share Trusts | 3.4% |
| 4650 Other Shareholders hold the remaining | 20% |
Directors
The directors of Bank Windhoek as of 1 July 2017 are:
- Johan Swanepoel - Chairman
- Baronice Hans - Managing Director
- Koos Brandt - Non-executive director
- Thinus Prinsloo - Non-executive director
- Gida Nakazibwe-Sekandi – Independent non-executive director
- Brian Black - Independent non-executive director
- Frans du Toit - Independent non-executive director
- Gerhard Fourie- Independent non-executive director
The Bank Windhoek Green Bond
As the only locally owned commercial bank, Bank Windhoek has a unique interest in protecting the Namibian environment for future generations. With this in mind, in 2018, Bank Windhoek became the first commercial bank in the Southern Africa region to launch a Green Bond, a financing tool that aims to raise funds for environmental projects.
Raised as part of the Bank Windhoek N$5 billion Domestic Medium Term Note Programme (DMTN), the Green Bond was listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) and follows the core components of the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond principles in its use and management of proceeds, its green project evaluation and selection process as well as its reporting.[2]
2019 Green Bond Pioneer Awards
During the 4th Annual Green Bond Pioneer Awards (GBPA), Bank Windhoek was awarded a Green Bond Pioneer Award for "New countries taking green bonds global".[3]
2020 Green Bond Impact Report
In its annual Green Bond Impact Report for 2020, Bank Windhoek reported funding several solar PV projects under the green bond facility worth a cost of N$66,000,000. In total these projects had an installed capacity [PV Power] of 6350.8kW and an expected annual generation of 15,595,189.32kWh in 1 year.
This equates to a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 1,272 homes or 2,382 passenger vehicles in a single year .[4]
2020 Bank Windhoek virtual relay
Bank Windhoek held a virtual relay in the place of its annual corporate relay race. Held with Farm Windhoek Fitness, the first ever Bank Windhoek Virtual Relay took place 1 & 2 August 2020 until 12:00 on Sunday, 02 August 2020. All proceeds from the Bank Windhoek Virtual Relay will be donated towards assisting the residents of the Twaloloka Community in Walvis Bay, who suffered losses after a fire spread through the informal settlement.
References
- Board of Directors of Bank Windhoek
- "Bank Windhoek | BW Green Bond Framework" (PDF). Bank Windhoek Official Website.
- Hobbs, Claire (5 March 2019). "Press Releases | Climate Bonds Initiative" (PDF). Climate Bonds Initiative.
- ". Bank Windhoek | Reports" (PDF). Bank Windhoek Official Website. 22 July 2020.