MBCA Bank to cut staff levels

reduce costs
and establish a structure in line with the bank’s strategy.
A total of 52 workers will be affected by the retrenchments.
In a statement, the bank said following applications to the relevant authorities in July 2011 to retrench, staff selected included both managers and non-managers.
“Negotiations with these two groups have been handled separately,” said the bank.
“A determination has been passed by the authorities with regards to managerial staff.”
MBCA said it was currently fulfilling the conditions on the determined and agreed retrenchment packages for the identified managers and non-managers.
A market update by the bank follows media reports on a biting retrenchment dispute with employees who are said to have demanded at least US$10 000 per worker in exit packages.
Most banks embarked on retrenchment exercises soon after the dollarisation of the economy in February 2009 as structures had become bloated due to hyperinflation.
A decade ago companies hired more staff to
deal with the huge volumes of the local currency and, with the introduction of the multiple
currency, companies had to retrench at huge
cost.
Banks now prefer lean structures, which are more efficient and easier to manage.
Financial institutions are also offloading human resources due to financial constraints.
The bank maintained that it was adequately capitalised and that its liquidity levels were well in excess of the regulatory requirements.
There have been reports that the bank had a largely subdued performance.
Commercial banks are required by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to have US$12,5 million as minimum capital requirement.
Banks experienced an increase in credit and liquidity risk since dollarisation and there is a high level of non-performing loans both for individuals and corporates.
MBCA Bank, Zimbabwe’s first-ever merchant bank, was incorporated in 1956 as the Merchant Bank of Central Africa Limited.
It then converted to a fully-fledged commercial bank and adopted the name MBCA Bank in
2004.
Nedbank holds a controlling 74 percent stake in MBCA.