(LUSAKATIMES) Government assures Finance Bank stability, as clients close accounts

Sunday, December 12, 2010

(LUSAKATIMES) Government assures Finance Bank stability, as clients close accounts

Government assures Finance Bank stability, as clients close accounts
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 9:07

From Left to Right:- Director Winlot - Joan Craven ; Chairman Winlot – Steven Malavan ; Vice Chairman Sugal & Damani – Pravin Chhedda ; Deputy Minister for Finance Govt.of Zambia – Ms Chileshe Kapwepwe ; Chairman Finance Bank Zambia – Dr. Rajan Mathani ; Chairman Sugal & Damani – N. Sugal Chand Jain ; Co-Chairman Sugal & Damani - G.N. Damani

Chief government spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha has maintained that government has no plans of nationalizing the recently seized Finance Bank Zambia Ltd.

Lieutenant General Shikapwasha who is also Information and Broadcasting minister told the media yesterday that is was not government’s duty to takeover any financial institutions experiencing operational problems.

He said reports in the media that government was intending to nationalize the Bank at a cost of K1.2 trillion were unfounded and baseless.

He further assured the nation that the bank would get back to its normal operations.
And PF leader Michael Sata says the takeover of Finance Bank by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) will take the country many years backwards.

He said the takeover of the institution was an unfortunate development because in the long run, the move would affect Zambia’s economy.

“Finance Bank has the largest branch network in the country, they have so many people in employment and so many depositors. What will happen to all the depositors? The K1.2 trillion will pay the shareholders, what about the depositors and the loans which institutions like Food Reserve Agency have with theBank? The government doesn’t have that kind of money to pay and cover the loans that people borrowed from the bank,” said Mr. Sata.

Meanwhile reports from across the country indicate that Finance Bank account holders have opted to withdraw all their monies from the bank due to uncertainties of the Bank’s future.

According to sources within the institutions, more than 50 percent of the Bank’s clientele in Lusaka on Friday last week were processing account closure applications after withdrawing their monies.

Labels: FINANCE BANK, RAJAN MAHTANI, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA