No joy for RMB depositors

Business
BY NDAMU SANDU TROUBLED ReNaissance Merchant Bank (RMB)’s clients have to wait a bit longer to withdraw money locked- up in the bank amid revelations that the curator had not raised enough money to allow for withdrawals.

RMB is under the curatorship of Reggie Saruchera following the unearthing of corporate governance deficiencies and abuse of depositors’ funds by the founding directors, Patterson Timba and Dunmore Kundishora.

 

RMB is currently insolvent and Saruchera’s tenure is meant to see whether the institution could be resuscitated and to look for new shareholders to inject money into the bank.

In a notice on Friday, Saruchera announced that the bank would reopen tomorrow.

Initially the bank’s reopening to the public was slated for June 20 but later pushed to tomorrow.

“Members of the public are advised that the deposit balances held with the bank as of June 2 2011 will remain frozen until further notice, while deposits received as from July 4 will be available for withdrawal in the ordinary course of business,” Saruchera said.

“All other banking operations will continue as normal,” he said.

The affected clients are those that had made call and fixed deposits that have already matured. RMB recorded total deposits base of US$63,15 million as at April 30.

However, the bank was primarily funded by expensive, volatile interbank 20 deposits which constituted 62,44% of total deposits.

Observers said on FridaySaruchera’s notice that deposits that were made prior to the placement of the bank under curatorship would not be withdrawn indicates that he has failed to collect enough from loans dished out by the bank.

This also comes at a time when some of the outstanding loans have been classified as losses. Loans amounting to over US$11 million have been classified as loss.

Problems at RMB began after Indian businessman Jayesh Shah blew the whistle on Timba when he reneged in paying US$12,5 million in capital uplift over a US$5 million loan.

Timba had borrowed the money to dilute other shareholders during RMB’s  capital-raising initiative.