The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has granted Ongos Valley Development’s building society, Cadence, a one-year extension on its provisional licence.
The central bank said an extension had been granted to the Cadence Building Society till February 2025 for the institution to work towards meeting the regulatory requirements for a full licence.
The provisional registration was valid for one year, after which the central bank was to issue a certificate of registration to Cadence Building Society to conduct business provided that it satisfies the conditions of the provisional registration.
The provisional licence was meant to allow the building society, owned by Ongos Valley Development (Pty) Ltd, to raise funds through the sale of shares, public deposits, or member subscriptions to build, buy and improve homes.
Ongos Valley Development Group Managing Director Americo De Almeida said the initial provisional licence granted a two-year timeframe for the building society to become fully operational.
The extension ensures a total of 24 months for implementation, with the official opening to the public now scheduled for later this year.
“Modern day banking licenses give a provisional license that allows you to comply with the different conditions so in our provision we said we will become operational in two years so they just had to sort of issue the first and then extend it in order to have the 24-month implementation process,” he told The Brief.
The central bank has been engaging in a consultative exercise to gather comments and recommendations on the Act, which provides for the registration and supervision of building societies.
Namibia currently does not have an active building society, despite the country’s housing backlog. Ongos Valley, which is developing a mixed-use township located 14 kilometres away from the city centre, plans to build a total of 28,000 housing units in 20 years.
As a building society, Cadence Building Society may provide mortgage products as well as similar products to any other deposit taking institution. This move is expected to provide additional options for Namibians seeking housing finance.
