Namibia has introduced new regulations restricting the appointment of foreign nationals to senior roles in banks, aimed at deepening local participation in the financial sector.
In line with the Banking Institutions Act of 2023, Finance Minister Ericah Shafudah published regulations in the government gazette on 13 February that set new requirements for the citizenship and residency of board members and executive officers in banking and microfinance institutions, as well as their controlling companies.
Under the new rules, a banking institution, microfinance banking institution, or controlling company may appoint a foreign national to its board or executive team only if it can demonstrate that the necessary skills and qualifications for the position are not available in Namibia.
Namibia currently has seven commercial banks — Banco Atlantico, Bank BIC Namibia Limited, Bank Windhoek, First National Bank Namibia, Nedbank Namibia Limited, Standard Bank Namibia Limited, and Letshego Bank Namibia Limited. All are foreign-owned except Bank Windhoek.
Local commentators have welcomed the move, citing long-standing concerns over the dominance of white South Africans in Namibia’s financial sector.
A banker who spoke on condition of anonymity said that despite affirmative action laws, black Namibians remain under-represented in management roles.
“If you look at the annual statements of the banks, one can clearly see how management of financial institutions is predominantly white. The situation becomes worse when you look at the composition of the board of directors, which means that banking decisions that impact Namibians are made outside the country”, the banker said.
Push for localisation
The Namibia Financial Sector Strategy, implemented between 2011 and 2021, identified local ownership and inclusivity as structural weaknesses.
In its findings on financial inclusion and localisation, the strategy noted progress in Namibian participation on boards and in senior management, though ownership continued to lag.
“The banking industry’s foreign ownership averaged 64%, with local ownership at around 35% in 2020”, the strategy report states.
“Although the sector heeded the call to transform by adopting a voluntary charter for the sector which spells out the sectors transformation agenda, the full realization of this transformation is yet to be felt”, the report further states.
The scale of the sector underscores the policy’s significance. Non-banking financial institutions recorded total assets of N$501.7bn in the second quarter of 2025, while the banking sector recorded assets of N$184.7bn in the third quarter.
The regulations signal a stronger push toward localisation in one of southern Africa’s most foreign-dominated banking systems, with potential implications for governance, skills transfer, and investor confidence.
