Africa-Press – Mozambique. Standard Bank Mozambique, which was last month suspended from the foreign exchange sector for what the central bank described as “serious infractions”, said on Wednesday that it “is well capitalised and has sufficient capacity to manage the risks that may arise in the market.”
In a statement to customers and business partners, the bank said that it had over the years built up a stability that offered resilience to the effects of the decision by the sector supervisor, with “a solid and robust 127-year track record in the market, which makes it the oldest financial institution in the country.”
It noted that it is part of Africa’s largest banking group, based in South Africa, which is over 150 years old.
Standard Bank Mozambique said that it was finalising the process of appointing a new managing director and director of major corporate banking, following the central bank’s decision to disqualify the previous holders of those positions from serving in financial institutions in the country, following offences established by the central bank.
The new directors, it said, would be announced as soon as regulatory approval was received.
On Monday, the Bank of Mozambique announced the appointment of Zaitina Raul as resident inspector at Standard Bank, following the decision to suspend the institution for a year from the interbank foreign exchange market.
“The resident inspector is responsible, among other tasks, for monitoring the implementation of the shareholder action plan, monitoring and analysing developments in the bank’s governance and internal control system, and participating in relevant meetings of the collegial bodies,” the central bank said in a statement that describes Raul as a “senior staff member” of the Bank of Mozambique.
Standard Bank’s suspension from the foreign exchange market was announced on 23 June; the following day the central bank announced the opening of three “contravention proceedings” against Standard Bank and two of its employees, namely Adimohanma Chukwuama and Carlos Madeira, who are banned for six years from working in credit institutions and face fines of 6 million meticals (€80,000 euros) and 14 million meticais, respectively.
The bank itself is also to pay a fine of 290 million meticais after “serious infractions” were found during inspections, including fraudulent manipulation of the exchange rate, according to the statement.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Bank of Mozambique stressed that the shareholders of the bank were cooperating with the regulator and that “all operations in the banking system are carried out normally.
Data from the central bank published in April showed Standard Bank as the third most systemically important bank in the country, on a list that is headed by Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI) and Banco Internacional de Moçambique (Millennium Bim).
According to the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), the country’s largest employer association, 45% of Mozambique’s monthly imports were paid for via Standard Bank, meaning that the current situation is creating uncertainty in the business sector.
