Business Reporter
THE Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), John Mushayavanhu, has dismissed claims that the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) is up for sale.
This comes after the state-owned POSB was reported to have been sold to foreign investors.
In a statement, the RBZ governor said POSB has not received any applications from investors to buy it, nor any correspondence about a sale from the Zimbabwean government, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“The public, and particularly POSB depositors, are advised that any purported sale of a banking business would require the authority of the Registrar of Banks and Exchange Control among other approvals.
“The Reserve Bank categorically states that these claims are false and has not received an application from any investor for the purchase of POSB, neither has it received any correspondence from any Zimbabwean Government authority, including His Excellency the President,” said Mushayavanhu.
The central bank governor also indicated that any sale of a banking institution in Zimbabwe requires approval from the Reserve Bank as the regulating authority and he has not approved any.
“If there had been any directive for the sale, it would have had to be addressed to the Reserve Bank as the approving authority. We can categorically confirm that the Reserve Bank never received any such directive, neither has it processed any application from the named investors.
“Accordingly, any reference to the purported sale of POSB cannot be true as the sale cannot be consummated without Reserve Bank approval,” said Mushayavanhu
He also added that, “These false claims should, therefore, be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.”
