The Development Bank of Namibia has announced the appointment of Saima Nimengobe as its Senior Manager: Risk & Compliance. Nimengobe’s appointment supports the Bank’s Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework.

Based on the framework, the Bank manages inherent risks in its environment which are categorised as risks in the financial market, liquidity risk, operational risk and IT risk. The management of liquidity risk is necessary for ensuring that the Bank has sufficient resources to continue lending, and the management of operational risk prevents fraud, corruption and misappropriation. IT risk is managed to preserve business continuity and protect against breaches of the Bank’s IT integrity.

Compliance risk management quantifies capital, funding and liquidity, credit, country, market, operational, regulatory and business risk. A qualitative component ensures that the correct principles, policies and procedures are applied by the Bank and reputational risks are properly managed by means of adequate controls.

Talking about the importance of risk management, DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi said that the Bank manages risk in the interests of its own sustainability, as well as the security of its borrowers. The purpose of risk management, he elaborates, is to properly understand the risks that the Bank faces, and proactively and effectively mitigate against and adjust to risk.

Inkumbi added that risk management does not reduce the Bank’s operational capacity and activities, but rather empowers the Bank to engage in operations within acceptable levels of risk.

He said that in 2016, the Bank took steps to better manage the market risk inherent in treasury functions by familiarising itself with market risk management processes and systems, and identifying specialist human capital requirements, as well as beginning the process of recruiting those skills on a permanent or outsourced basis.

He went on to say that the Bank also added an environmental and social management system in 2016 to ensure that its finance does not have harmful social and environmental consequences.

Inkumbi welcomed Saima Nimengobe, who joined the Development Bank of Namibia as Senior Manager: Risk & Compliance, to the team, saying that her skills and knowledge will greatly enhance the Bank’s effectiveness and sustainability.

Nimengobe holds an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch (USB), which she attained in 2012, a Bachelor of Accounting from UNAM, a postgraduate certificate in compliance management and several certificates in project, risk and compliance management.

She was previously employed as Group Enterprise Risk Manager at the Ohlthaver & List Group, and Risk Manager at Namibia Breweries. She has extensive experience and knowledge in developing and embedding risk policies, enterprise-wide risk management, including governance compliance, and financial evaluation for investment purposes.