Interfin remains suspended

said on Thursday.
The bank was placed under curatorship in June last year after being exposed to debts of more than US$80 million.

In an update, chairperson Mr Timothy Chiganze said the process of raising capital was going on, though at a slower pace than anticipated.

“The curatorship period for the bank, which is 100 percent owned by Interfin Financial Services Limited, was extended for a further six months up to June 9, 2013 and the bank has not been able to reopen as previously anticipated.

“Consequently, the holding company, IFS, remains suspended from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange,” he said.

Summonses
Mr Chiganze said loan repayments by borrowers have been slow due to the tight liquidity constraints prevailing in the economy hence the company failed to meet the required capital.

“To date 200 summonses valued at US$79,3 million has been issued as the bank tries to enforce and quickly recover what it is owed,” he said.

He said a scheme of arrangement which involves the conversion of deposits to equity in the bank’s quoted holding company IFS has been proposed.

“If approved this will result in the reduction of capital gap and strengthening of the balance sheet thereby becoming more attractive to potential investors,” he said.

Meanwhile, extension of the curatorship period means that the bank’s depositors will have to wait until June to know its future without accessing their funds. – New Ziana.