Business Reporter
HOMEOWNERS paying off mortgage loans and those settling other debts will not have to dig deeper into their pockets after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Namibia maintained the repo rate at 6.50%.
Commercial banks are accordingly expected to keep their prime lending rates at 10.00%. This policy stance is deemed appropriate for safeguarding the one-to-one link between the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand, while remaining supportive of domestic economic activity.
Ebson Uanguta, the central bank Governor, said that following extensive deliberations, the MPC unanimously decided to maintain the repo rate at 6.50%.
He added that in determining the appropriate monetary policy stance, the MPC added the sustained appreciation of the exchange rate, which has assisted in reining in inflation.
“The Committee further considered the weaker domestic economic activity and private sector credit extension, as well as benign inflation projections. However, weighing these against the imperative to ensure orderly capital flows in the interest of safeguarding the currency peg arrangement, the MPC decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at its current level,” Uanguta said.
Furthermore, he added that the supportive effects of prior monetary policy easing, together with the prime-repo rate differential normalisation achieved since December 2025, are considered sufficient to continue providing support to the domestic economy.
During the period under monetary policy review, Uanguta said that the global economy held up well amidst heightened global trade tensions and policy uncertainty during 2025, with the global growth rate estimated to have remained unchanged from the level recorded in 2024.
While inflation continued to slow down across monitored economies since the previous MPC meeting, key commodity prices trended upwards. Similarly, key global stock markets generally gained, while bond yields broadly declined. Meanwhile, trends in monetary policy stances across most major central banks have been mixed.
Turning to the domestic economy, growth in real Gross Domestic Product is estimated to have moderated in 2025 relative to 2024, while the uptake of credit by the private sector remains subdued. On a positive note, inflation remained well contained, and the merchandise trade deficit narrowed. The stock of international reserves remains sufficient to maintain the currency peg and meet the country’s international financial obligations.
The annual growth in Private Sector Credit Extension (PSCE) remains subdued, reflecting reduced credit uptake by both businesses and households. From its post-pandemic peak of 5.9 percent in September 2025, PSCE growth declined to 4.4 percent in December 2025. Moreover, although the average annual PSCE growth rate nearly doubled to 4.9 percent in 2025 relative to 2.5 percent in 2024, it still remains weak.
PICTURED: Central Bank Governor, Ebson Uanguta. Photo: BoN
