Bank Windhoek

Bank Windhoek Limited, commonly referred to as Bank Windhoek, is a registered commercial bank in Namibia, which is licensed by the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to operate in the country. It provides comprehensive financial services to its clients in Namibia which include personal, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), commercial accounts and financial products.

Bank Windhoek Limited
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1982
HeadquartersWindhoek, Namibia
Key people
Johan Swanepoel (Chairman)
Baronice Hans (Managing Director)[1]
ProductsLoans
Transactional
Savings
Investments
Number of employees
1545+ (2020)
ParentCapricorn Group
Websitewww.bankwindhoek.com.na

Over the years, Bank Windhoek has built a strong financial position and achieved remarkable growth and now has interests in banking, insurance, asset management, investments and micro-finance.

Bank Windhoek also offers foreign exchange services throughout its branches and through a joint venture with American Express, which has various outlets in Namibia. While being an autonomous Namibian company, the bank also provides international banking services through direct liaison with financial centres and institutions worldwide.

Branch network and localised ATMs

Bank Windhoek has the largest branch network and footprint across Namibia. As of July 2017, it 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.

The bank also has 112 ATMs across Namibia and 220 Bank Windhoek Cash Express ATMs installed at various merchant locations countrywide in partnership with ATM Solutions Namibia.

Bank Windhoek has a strong track record of making banking more accessible in remote areas of Namibia, while it is also the only bank in Namibia to offer ATM's with local language options.[2]

Ownership structure

Bank Windhoek, a fully owned subsidiary of the Capricorn Group, 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). At present, 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. While 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.

Capricorn Group Shareholders:
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 01 July 2017 are:
Title / Role: Name and Surname:
Chairman Johan Swanepoel
Managing Director Baronice Hans
Non-executive director Koos Brandt
Non-executive director Thinus Prinsloo
Independent 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

International awards

The Banker’s Bank of the Year – 2019:

On the 28th of November 2019 Bank Windhoek was announced as The Banker’s Bank of the Year by the Financial Times publication in London.

The publications Middle Easy and Africa Editor, John Everington, was quoted as saying the reason for this was because “Bank Windhoek was Namibia’s best performing bank in a difficult economic climate. The judges were impressed not only by the bank’s strong financial performance, but also by innovative initiatives such as its landmark Green Bond offering and its Woman in Business product range.”

Bank Windhoek’s Managing Director, Baronice Hans and its Executive for Retail Banking Services, James Chapman, flanked by The Banker’s Magazine’s Brian Caplen and Michael Buerk.

Global banking and finance awards:

In December 2019, Bank Windhoek was named the Best Corporate Bank in Namibia by the Global Banking and Finance Review an international financial portal and print magazine. During the evaluation process, Bank Windhoek received the award based on various criteria including inter alia staff knowledge and expertise and the bank's overall performance.

“We are very proud of our collective achievement. This Award is testament to the hard work, resilience, and dedication from the Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) Team, the Treasury Team, overall Bank Windhoek staff, and customers who all endured a challenging economic environment in 2019. The collective efforts allowed us to achieve our set strategy for the division consistently. Thank you, let us aim for more in 2020,” said Bank Windhoek’s Executive Officer of CIB, Lukas Nanyemba. [3]

PMR.africa awards:

In February 2020 Bank Windhoek was recognized with two Diamond Arrow PMR.africa Awards and two Golden Arrow PMR.africa Awards at the annual PMR.africa Namibia Country Survey Business Excellence Awards Ceremony.

The bank received the following accolades:

  • Diamond Arrow Award - Banks: Agriculture
  • Diamond Arrow Award - Companies/Institutions Doing Most For Women Empowerment
  • Golden Arrow Award - Banks: Business Banking
  • Golden Arrow Award - Banks: Personal Banking  

The awards, created by PMR.africa, were created to enhance local and international competitiveness according to the PMR.africa website.[4]

The Bank Windhoek Green Bond

Overview

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.[5]

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".[6]

2020 Green Bond Impact Report:

In its first 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 .[7][8]

Representatives from Bank Windhoek and Rent-a-drum at the launch of the 2020 Green Bond Impact Report.

The Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project

Project overview:

The Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project was launched in 1999 as a school fundraising initiative that grew into a community-wide project that organizes schools, Bank Windhoek customers, corporates, as well as other institutions in selling red apples in order to raise funds for the Cancer Association of Namibia who employs these funds towards outreach programs and pro-bono cancer screening across all 14 regions in Namibia.

Since its inception, Bank Windhoek has been main sponsor of the project which has become one of the biggest and longest-running Corporate Social Responsibility programs in Namibia and has to date raised a total of N$30.5 million.[9]

Cancer Association of Namibia’s (CAN) Chief Executive Officer, Rolf Hansen and Bank Windhoek’s Managing Director, Baronice Hans, reveal the funds raised during the 2018 Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project as Bank Windhoek’s Executive Officer of Retail Banking Services, Chris Matthee and CAN’s Chairperson, Saima Nambinga, join in.

Special events:

In 2007 as part of the fundraising efforts, an Apple Drive was held on 12 April in partnership with local radio station Kosmos 94.1. During this event, 70 000 apples were sold and over 300 individuals shaved and dyed their hair in various colors to raise funds.[10]

In 2018 the project was selected as one of the 'global innovative projects of hope' during the World Cancer Congress. Details on the project were shared during a session titled 'Global Fundraising/Spotlight on Innovative Fundraising Models".

Rolf Hansen, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cancer Association of Namibia, also presented the project as an abstract under the heading "An Apple A Day, Helps Keep Cancer Away".[11]

In 2020 the project was expected to celebrate its 20th Anniversary, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebrations were postponed to 2021. While the anniversary celebrations and fundraising activities were put on hold, Bank Windhoek made a cash donation of N$500 000.00 towards the Cancer Association of Namibia under the project banner.[12]

2020 Bank Windhoek Virtual Relay

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bank Windhoek held a virtual relay in the place of its annual corporate relay race in partnership with Farm Windhoek Fitness.

The first ever Bank Windhoek Virtual Relay took place between 1 to 2 August 2020 and officially closed at 12:00 on Sunday, 02 August 2020. All proceeds were donated towards assisting the residents of the Twaloloka (now known as 'Otweya') Community in Walvis Bay, which suffered losses after a fire spread through the informal settlement in July 2020[13].

The bank donated a total of N$30 000.00 which was used towards purchasing food for the residents of Otweya.[14]

See also

References
  1. Board of Directors of Bank Windhoek
  2. "BANK Windhoek yesterday announced the upgrade of its ATMs and the addition of three local languages". The Namibian. 23 November 2017.
  3. "Bank Windhoek wins top Corporate Bank accolade". Bank Windhoek Official Website.
  4. "About PMR.africa". PMR.africa.
  5. "Bank Windhoek | BW Green Bond Framework" (PDF). Bank Windhoek Official Website.
  6. Hobbs, Claire (5 March 2019). "Press Releases | Climate Bonds Initiative" (PDF). Climate Bonds Initiative.
  7. ". Bank Windhoek | Reports" (PDF). Bank Windhoek Official Website. 22 July 2020.
  8. "Bank Windhoek releases Green Bond Impact Report". Namibian Sun. 22 July 2020.
  9. "Bank Windhoek halts Cancer Apple Project donates half a million to CAN".
  10. "Cancer Apple Project Breaks Record". New Era. 27 April 2007.
  11. "The Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project earns international recognition". Namibia Press Agency.
  12. "Bank Windhoek halts Cancer Apple Project donates half a million to CAN". Bank Windhoek. 1 July 2020.
  13. De Klerk, Eveline (28 July 2020). "Inferno devastates Twaloloka... display of solidarity to help fire victims". New Era Live.
  14. "Bank Windhoek hands over its Virtual Relay proceeds to Otweya". Bank Windhoek.
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