GONO VOWS TO CLEAN UP BANKING SECTOR BEFORE RETIRING NEXT YEAR
Harare August 1, 2012 (New Ziana) – Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Dr Gideon Gono has promised to clean up the banking sector and rid it of errant bankers before his term of office expires next year.
Gono, who took office in December 2003, said he was not seeking re-appointment.
He warned errant bankers that the central bank would not brook “any nonsense” in the financial sector.
“I have 16 months to go to the end of my second term. Any nonsense in the financial sector, you will go before I go, that is my promise to depositors,” he said in a stern warning to bankers who were present at the presentation of the mid-term policy Tuesday.
“I am not seeking to be re-appointed. I will make sure before I go, bankers are going to be as disciplined as never before. If it means putting you in jail in order to make sure that your institutions are safe and sound, I will do that.”
With an increasing number of bankers abusing depositors’ funds and being allowed to walk scot-free, Gono said moves were in motion to amend banking laws to make it a criminal offense.
A number of banks have collapsed in Zimbabwe, most recently Royal Bank, amid revelations that depositors’ funds were abused but the bankers have not been brought to book.
Gono, whose re-appointment sparked controversy in 2008 as it was being politicized, said he wanted to leave the banking sector in Zimbabwe “as strong as at no other point in its history.”
As part of the measures, Gono announced an eight fold increase in minimum capital threshold for most banks, in a move which sent shock waves in the financial markets.
The capital threshold for commercial banks starting June 2014 was put at $100 million, up from the current $12.5 million.
Requirements for other institutions were also adjusted accordingly, with the institutions given a staggered approach to meeting the capital adequacy levels.
New Ziana
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
Rioting has erupted at a march to commemorate the killing of a 15-year-old boy who was shot by Greek police in 2008. Officers fired tear gas at scores of hooded See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like See details