The Bank of Namibia (BoN), Namibia’s central bank, recently granted a permanent banking license to FIDES Bank Namibia, a microfinance institution (MFI). According to a BoN press release, this entitles FIDES Bank Namibia to “engage in formal or informal banking activities with any person in Namibia, especially soliciting public deposits” [1].

Financial Systems Development Services (FIDES) is an international organization based in Switzerland that was established to create access to financial services for microentrepreneurs. Its efforts in Namibia were first recognized by BoN on August 4, 2009, when the Namibian MFI operated by FIDES, FIDES Bank Namibia, was granted a provisional banking license from BoN. After being granted the provisional license, FIDES Bank Namibia opened with an initial capital of NAD 15 million (the equivalent of USD 2 million) [2].

About Financial Systems Development Services (FIDES):

Financial Systems Development Services (FIDES) is a joint stock company headquartered in Fribourg, Switzerland, that was founded in 1996. FIDES has set up eight microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India and countries in Africa and Eastern Europe, and provides consultation services to other MFIs [3]. FIDES does not report data to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX).

By Eric McKay, Research Assistant

Bibliography:

[1] Press Release. “Bank of Namibia Issues Permanent License to FIDES Bank Namibia Limited”. http://www.bon.com.na/docs/spr/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Permanent%20license%20granted%20to%20FIDES%20Bank.pdf

[2] Press Release. “The Prospective FIDES Bank Namibia LTD Receives the Provisional Banking License from Bank of Namibia”. http://www.fidesgroup.org/docs/Pressrelease_FIDES_Namibia.pdf

[3] FIDES. http://www.fidesgroup.org/fidesabout.html

Additional Links:

MicroCapital Universe: FIDES. http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=FIDES