On 10 April 2024, the Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority (NDGA) released its fourth Annual Report for the financial year ended 31 December 2023. The Report is prepared in terms of section 32 of the Deposit Guarantee Act, 2018 (No. 16 of 2018) and in line with standards of good corporate governance. It highlights information on the NDGA’s governance and management, its operations and the performance of its established Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The Report also presents the Authority’s independently audited Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Namibia Deposit Guarantee Act, 2018 (No. 16 of 2018) established the NDGA with the primary goal of administering the Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The Scheme aims to protect depositors from the loss of their deposits by compensating them in the unlikely event of a commercial bank failure. This ultimately enhances consumer protection while also improving financial stability.

The Scheme adopts a guaranteed coverage limit of N$25,000 which is currently in effect. At this coverage limit, the Scheme covers more than 90 percent of current depositors. The Scheme therefore ensures that depositors have access to all or a portion of their funds in the event of a bank failure within a specified time period. It also protects against panic withdrawals by assuring depositors of the safety of their deposits even if a bank fails, reducing the likelihood and scale of such a failure culminating into a crisis for the entire financial system. All Namibian banking institutions and branches of foreign banks and building societies are required to be members of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme and pay annual premiums to the Scheme.

The Annual Report and the independently audited Financial Statements indicating the financial position of the NDGA as at 31 December 2023 is testimony of the sound governance architecture in place and the robust governance oversight executed by the Board of Directors. The media and the public at large are encouraged to read the entire report, which is available either in hard copy upon request or accessible online at: https://www.ndga.com.na/Publications.aspx