Unpaid Namibian property market bank loans hit an all-time high, raising concerns that it could threaten the stability of the country’s banking sector.

We have worked extensively with reporters at The Namibian over the past year.

In this story, journalists at The Namibian collated and analysed 15 years of data published by the country’s central bank to identify trends and indicators about the long-term health of the economy.

They noticed deteriorating trends in commercial banks’ loan books, including a steep rise in non-performing mortgage loans which were at the highest level the property market has seen for many years.

Non-performing loans as a percentage of banks’ total lending had breached a key threshold considered by the central bank to be an early warning sign of an economic downturn.

Finance Uncovered assisted The Namibian reporters Lazarus Amukeshe and Nginomenwa Erastus to analyse the data, identify key trends, find the most important angle and hone their written story.

Read the published story here.