Business / Economy
'Aloof attitude' of some multinational banks in Zimbabwe questioned
04 Mar 2011 at 09:35hrs | Views
AS President Robert Mugabe intensifies his campaign to grab foreign-owned companies under "indigenisation", bankers were ordered to attend a meeting and were given a dressing down by senior government officials, sources said yesterday .
The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe yesterday said some of their members were called to meetings on Tuesday by senior officials to discuss the antisanctions campaign and indigenisation.
Sources said they met co-Vice- President John Nkomo, Minister in the President's Office Didymus Mutasa, Information Minister Webster Shamu and Zanu (PF) spokesman Rugare Gumbo.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who belongs to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party, yesterday said he was not told of the meeting, indicating that he could have been deliberately excluded.
A cabinet minister yesterday said bankers were questioned by Zanu (PF) officials, who said they had serious concerns about the "aloof attitude" of some multinational banks towards the need to support the domestic economy.
"Nkomo and his colleagues accused some banks of supporting 'illegal international sanctions' through taking instructions from their international parentages. They said banks were misguided and must change or face the music," the minister said. "Bankers were told that under their 'misguided practices', some internationally owned banks were deliberately declining loans to Zimbabwean companies and individuals appearing on the illegal European Union and US sanctions lists."
Bankers are resisting indigenisation, saying the sector is already dominated by Zimbabweans, with 68% of banks owned by locals. Foreign-owned banks, including Stanbic and MBCA, which is controlled by Nedbank , represent 32% of the banking sector.
Mr Mugabe at a function on Wednesday called for a boycott of foreign companies and mentioned British-controlled banks and businesses, saying British interests controlled 400 businesses in Zimbabwe. He accused Barclays and Standard Chartered of taking money out of Zimbabwe's economy .The UK's foreign office called the move "irresponsible". With Sapa
The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe yesterday said some of their members were called to meetings on Tuesday by senior officials to discuss the antisanctions campaign and indigenisation.
Sources said they met co-Vice- President John Nkomo, Minister in the President's Office Didymus Mutasa, Information Minister Webster Shamu and Zanu (PF) spokesman Rugare Gumbo.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who belongs to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party, yesterday said he was not told of the meeting, indicating that he could have been deliberately excluded.
A cabinet minister yesterday said bankers were questioned by Zanu (PF) officials, who said they had serious concerns about the "aloof attitude" of some multinational banks towards the need to support the domestic economy.
"Nkomo and his colleagues accused some banks of supporting 'illegal international sanctions' through taking instructions from their international parentages. They said banks were misguided and must change or face the music," the minister said. "Bankers were told that under their 'misguided practices', some internationally owned banks were deliberately declining loans to Zimbabwean companies and individuals appearing on the illegal European Union and US sanctions lists."
Bankers are resisting indigenisation, saying the sector is already dominated by Zimbabweans, with 68% of banks owned by locals. Foreign-owned banks, including Stanbic and MBCA, which is controlled by Nedbank , represent 32% of the banking sector.
Mr Mugabe at a function on Wednesday called for a boycott of foreign companies and mentioned British-controlled banks and businesses, saying British interests controlled 400 businesses in Zimbabwe. He accused Barclays and Standard Chartered of taking money out of Zimbabwe's economy .The UK's foreign office called the move "irresponsible". With Sapa
Source - Byo24News
