Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC) says compensation payments have been made to almost half of depositors that lost their savings due to closure of some financial institutions and change of currency in the country.
Acting chief executive, Mr Gift Chirozva, said the compensation programme is being done in phases.
He was speaking at the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI)’s Africa Region Committee Annual General Meeting and Conference, which started here on Monday under the theme: “Building Resilience for Deposit Insurance Systems: The New Normal”.
The first phase targeted depositors affected by collapsed micro-finance institutions and that window has been closed and focus is now on People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) clients.
“DPC has paid 26 000 depositors out of approximately 59 000 depositors who have been affected by nine failed banking institutions during the Zimdollar era,” he said. “From the deposit protection fund this is where we pay depositors of failed banking institutions out of the fund that we keep at DPC and in that regard we have had these depositors paid since dollarisation,” said Mr Chirozva.
He said since dollarisation in 2010, the mandate of DPC was widened to include additional responsibilities which include paying depositors out of the liquidation funds as well as compensation of depositors’ loss of value.
“We also pay compensation when we have recovered from debtors,” said Mr Chirozva.
He said the window for the first phase closed in July and this involved paying depositors who submitted claims for loss as a result of closed micro finance institutions.
“We have now since launched the second phase of the scheme where we are now paying depositors of POSB and we are paying in United States dollar.
“To date we have paid about US$120 000 to approximately 540 depositors. That programme is ongoing,” he said.
Mr Chirozva encouraged all depositors of POSB who had deposited with the institution in 2019 and lost their value to go to their nearest POSB branch or refer to DPC and the bank website to learn how they can submit claims.
Online Reporter