Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
The Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZim) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in information sharing, capacity building and crisis preparedness within the financial sector.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Harare, DPC chief executive officer Mr Hopewell Zinyau described the agreement as a major milestone for Zimbabwe’s financial services sector and said it would enhance market confidence and improve the resilience of the country’s financial safety net.
“We have just signed a very important Memorandum of Understanding with SECZim as Deposit Protection Corporation,” he said.
“The Memorandum of Understanding seeks to improve our relationships as far as information sharing is concerned, capacity building is concerned, and also crisis preparedness and crisis management in the financial sector.”
Mr Zinyau said the agreement will strengthen collaboration between key regulators and other financial sector institutions such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC).
“This is a very important and a very huge milestone in our view in that it gives market confidence from the capital market point of view and also from the depositors’ point of view,” he said.
“We are now confronting what is facing our market through one strong collaboration together with other entities who are outside this agreement but are also financial safety net players.”
Mr Zinyau said the MoU will facilitate the sharing of critical industry information between the two institutions, particularly in areas relating to deposit protection and capital markets regulation.
He said the partnership would also enable both institutions to jointly identify and respond to potential risks in the financial system.
“We talk of crisis preparedness if we assume or predict that there may be a crisis ahead of us from a capital market point of view or from a depositors’ point of view,” Mr Zinyau said.
“We will be able to jointly come up with a crisis preparedness plan which we will activate and implement to manage the crisis or to avoid the crisis.”
Mr Zinyau said the agreement was in line with international best practice, where financial safety net institutions work closely together to safeguard economic stability.
“This is basically also best practice from an industry point of view that financial safety net players collaborate, cooperate and work together as far as crisis management is concerned,” he said.
“So we are basically reinforcing an existing best practice, not that we are predicting anything to go wrong in this economy.”
He said the MoU was not time-bound and would be continuously reviewed and enhanced to incorporate emerging areas of cooperation.
“It is a timeless MoU. We will continuously improve it.”
SECZim chief executive officer Mrs Grace Berejena said the agreement was both timely and strategic, reflecting a shared commitment to strengthening the integrity and resilience of Zimbabwe’s financial system.
“This partnership is both timely and strategic, reflecting our shared commitment to strengthening the stability, resilience and integrity of Zimbabwe’s financial system,” she said.
Mrs Berejena said collaboration between the two institutions was essential given their complementary mandates in protecting investors and depositors.
“As institutions with complementary mandates, collaboration between SECZim and DPC is essential in promoting investor confidence and safeguarding financial sector participants,” she said.
She said the MoU establishes a structured platform for cooperation in areas such as information sharing, capacity building and coordinated oversight.
“This will enhance our ability to respond effectively to emerging risks while supporting sustainable market development,” said Mrs Berejena.
She also commended the teams from both institutions for their commitment to making the agreement possible.
“As we formalise this agreement, let it serve as a commitment to continued partnership, innovation and excellence in advancing Zimbabwe’s financial sector.”
The signing of the MoU comes as Zimbabwe continues efforts to deepen financial sector reforms and strengthen investor confidence amid ongoing economic transformation initiatives.
Peter Tanyanyiwa