The anti-climax that is not to be

started with Renaissance Merchant Bank being placed under curatorship and focus then was on those banks that the market thought were next in line.
A few names were thrown around, which we shall not repeat here given that they have been exonerated.
However, speculation has over the past few weeks grown and has been taken as fact; something the banking sector would agree with me, has affected operations.
I just found it a bit odd that the banks did not trip over each other to call for Press conferences to correct the position. Maybe they were just being civil and they new the central bank, as their superintendent, would speak on their behalf.
The banking sector is sensitive, particularly to negative information, especially as the 2004 banking sector crisis is still fresh in people’s minds.
The situation has become even more tense where the US dollar is concerned because every cent counts, in the literal sense.
However, many fears have been allayed by the Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono, who announced on Tuesday that the banking sector was still safe and sound.
Such news coming from the monetary authorities themselves should help sober the situation up.
Many had feared a run non deposits while other banks that were in discussion with external financiers for some lines of credit were beginning to see their deals crumble due to the excitement around the June 30 recapitalisation deadline set by the central bank.
Yet many others, which could be seeking foreign investors to inject fresh capital, had become apprehensive that news and rumours about the state of the banking sector would quash investor appetite.
But, gladly, the statement by the central bank governor has brought a sigh of relief.
Things are not so bad in the banking sector and come the morning of July 1, all banks will still be operational and the “under curatorship” tag will only be hanging at Renaissance.
Some of us had begun to even see potential page one pictures of a stream of banks all closed as depositors stand in awe, contemplating the next move after their salaries or savings would have been locked in the banks.
But gladly, this is not to be.
Tomorrow will be like any other day and banks will be open like any other day.
While the big banks in the mould of CBZ Bank, Barclays, Standard Chartered, Stanbic and FBC were said to be safe, questions had been raised on the indigenous banks, many of whom felt unfairly judged.
They had all been painted with one brush and yet the situation on the ground is different as stated on Tuesday.
The International Monetary Fund, which had fuelled the fears, has been put in their rightful place by the good governor.
“But who is the IMF? I am the central governor here. The IMF comes here for two to three days and they have the guts and confidence to give comments about the banking system
“I call that abuse of the pulpit. Simply because they have the economic pulpit from which to make comments about countries and sectors . . . that does not make them saints at all.
“If they were there we would not have gone through the receding economic meltdown in their own backyard,” charged Dr Gono on Tuesday.
He sounded really miffed by the comments from the IMF.
Understandably so.
Dr Gono elaborated on the roadmap that the central bank would take between now and September 30 before announcing corrective measures, where necessary.
He emphasised that this did not in any way mean that today’s deadline had been extended.
Banks should, therefore, take heed of the fact that they have 14 days from tomorrow to present their reports as regard capitalisation while the central bank is expected to go on a door-to-door verification process set for completion before end of September.
The audit will also focus on liquidity conditions, asset quality, management quality, risk management and control, ownership structures and overall corporate governance systems.
These should give a clearer picture on the banking sector once completed.
Therefore, banks cannot afford to sit and relax at this juncture but will need to work on ensuring that they will not be found on the wrong side once the central bank teams descend on them.
The next three months will certainly be telling in this regard.
In the meantime, the banks themselves need to continue in their quest to perform better while adopting innovative ways of bringing banking to the people.
The greatest fear for any bank is a run on deposits, something that is not expected to happen any time soon but conversely, banks need to continue courting depositors instead of penalising them.
At the recently ended International Association of Deposits Insurers African chapter held in Victoria Falls last week, both the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank lamented the failure by banks to meet depositor expectations, particularly in remote areas.
This is an issue that should not be taken lightly, especially when the economy needs to grow its savings base to promote domestic investment, among other attendant benefits.
The Medium-Term Plan anticipates Zimbabwe will achieve double-digit savings rate of around 20 percent of GDP by 2015.
Lending conditions have also remained inhibitive although we have seen some banks go out of the way to lend to both individuals and corporates.
The liquidity challenges, which seem to have worsened in recent months, have continued to constrict banks, in some instances.
However, this has not in any way reduced the appetite for cash in the economy as companies seek to recapitalise while individuals engage in incoming generating projects to supplement their salaries.
Minister of Finance Tendai Biti and Dr Gono are expected to give fiscal and monetary policy accounts of the state of the economy over the past few months and prospects for the remainder of the year.
We certainly hope measures will be put in place to induce liquidity in the economy.
An update on some external loan facilities that are still to materialise will be expected.
The economy, which has largely performed poorly in the first half of the year, should be moving another gear up to keep alive the dream of at least 9 percent economic growth.
Mr Kenias Mafukidze and a team from the CEOs roundtable will actually be keeping their fingers crossed that the economy will achieve a 15 percent growth as part of vision 2030.
Banks obviously have a central role to play and ensure these figures are attained. Instead of mourning about the current state of affairs, we want to see them thinking outside the box to foster economic growth.
In God I trust!
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