The Sunday Mail
THE Depositors Protection Corporation has paid more than 50 percent of the insured deposits that were locked in three collapsed banks — Trust, Royal and Genesis.
Genesis Bank, which closed on June 11, 2012, had US$11 800 in insured deposits, of which US$8 000 has since been paid; while Royal Bank, which shut down on July 27, 2012, had US$330 000 repaid, representing 70 percent of the insured sum.
For Trust Bank Corporation, the DPC has only paid US$109 000 of the US$328 000 that was insured.
“What happens is that soon after a bank has been closed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the DPC is mandated to start compensating depositors up to the maximum insurable limit prevailing at the time of bank closure,” said DPC.
However, the insurable limit can be reviewed in line with the growth of the fund.
“Currently, the limit is US$500 per depositor, which is paid immediately on bank closure. We urge depositors of these institutions who have not submitted their claims to contact the DPC for reimbursement.”
The maximum insurable limit covered by the DPC for Genesis bank is US$150, while for Trust and Royal banks it is US$500.
The DPC is an autonomous statutory body established in 2003 under the Banking Act to administer the Deposit Protection Fund.
The banking sector has suffered a crisis of confidence from the public following the 2004 debacle that saw several banks folding.
This year, Capital Bank Corporation was added to the list of closed banks.
Depositors struggled to access their funds from banks during the hyper-inflationary period of 2008 and lost those funds after introduction of a multi-currency regime the following year.
This resulted in the public increasingly opting for other ways of saving their hard-earned cash.
The DPC believes reimbursing funds would help restore public confidence in the financial services sector and promote a culture of savings.
A 2013 survey by FBC Securities revealed that more than 76 percent of Zimbabwe’s adult population did not use formal financial services.
The report showed that despite having 22 banks then and over 100 micro-finance institutions, Zimbabweans were still under-banked.
This was attributed to confidence issues as well as failure by financial institutions to tap into the informal sector and rural folk who form the bulk of the country’s population.
Mobile banking has, however, offered an alternative to many people.
