Zimbabwe banking sector safe, says IMF

The local banking sector is safe and free of distressed institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, imploring authorities to further bring down the loans default rate to bolster confidence.

An IMF team, which was in the country for a second review of the Staff Monitored Programme (SMP), gave a clean bill of health on the financial sector, which they say is the engine for economic growth.

There are no longer any distressed banks, all banks now fully comply with capital requirements, nonperforming loans have declined, and the interbank market is now functioning," head of the mission team Domenico Fanizza said.

Early this year, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) told IMF that it would rid the banking sector of distressed financial institutions by June 30.