Intermarket Bank shareholding restructured – Mutati

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 09:43:31 +0000

By KALOBWE BWALYA

SHUT Intermarket Bank is to resume operations soon following a cash injection and restructured shareholding, says Finance Minister Felix Mutati.

In a ministerial statement to parliament on the takeover of the Inter-market Bank by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ), Mr Mutati said the name of the bank had not been tarnished in any way or should cause to scare away customers.

Mr Mutati also said the bank was not going into liquidation but was being restructured so that it met its obligations and consequently its capitalization requirements to continue with normal operations.

“But what is important for the nation and the customers is that the option of liquidation would have entailed them losing literally all their deposits,” he said

He said the bank was now taking steps to implement the plan as approved by BoZ which would also closely monitor the activities of the bank, adding that the public would be informed in due course regarding the timing of the resumption of its operations.

“Sir following the repossession of IBC, the Bank of Zambia as required by the law, it prepared a statement of affairs of the assets and liabilities of the bank with 90 days,” he said. Mr Mutati said BOZ has since accepted the proposal submitted by the shareholders which provided a viable basis for a substitutive restructuring of the bank to the resumption of its operations.