{"id":8662,"date":"2021-04-18T18:12:45","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T18:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?p=8662"},"modified":"2021-04-18T17:23:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T17:23:00","slug":"banks-move-on-ayo-political-meddling-say-unions-political-parties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/banks-move-on-ayo-political-meddling-say-unions-political-parties","title":{"rendered":"Bank\u2019s move on AYO \u2019political meddling\u2019, say unions, political parties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – South-Africa<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Johannesburg – Unions, business organisations and political parties have slammed the decision of First National Bank (FNB) to shut down the accounts of AYO Technologies, and accused the country\u2019s big four banks of being players in the country\u2019s factional politics, rather than protecting jobs.<\/p>\n

In an announcement on Thursday, AYO Technologies informed its shareholders that the company was given notice by FNB of the closure of its transactional accounts and that it had launched legal proceedings against the bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the company\u2019s best efforts, FNB has not provided AYO with what it regards as valid reasons for termination. The company believes that it is entitled to fair treatment and as a result, the company has instituted legal proceedings against FNB for its decision to close the company\u2019s transactional banking facility,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n

AYO has said in court papers that FNB\u2019s decision would lead to more than 1 200 job losses.<\/p>\n

Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said they disagreed with the arrangement of banks where they have unchecked powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe disagree with the arrangement where banks have unchecked powers. Companies are not only made of shareholders, there are other stakeholders like workers and service providers who are affected by this reckless behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cBanks need to be accountable and explain their reasons and should also engage with relevant regulators and state institutions to make their case and ask for an intervention where laws have been broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need an assertive state, including a robust parliament and regulatory institutions to temper the unlimited power of big banks,\u201d said Pamla.<\/p>\n

Communication Workers Union (CWU) general-secretary Aubrey Tshabalala called for FNB to reverse its decision against workers, which it said was tantamount to economic treason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe banks must not play an active political role which has a potential in future to hold the country to ransom. While acknowledging the independence of the private institutions like banks, we are concerned that banks in a way become a referee and the player at the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unilateral decision by FNB to close the accounts of AYO has a negative impact on hundreds of workers,\u201d said Tshabalala.<\/p>\n

SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo said South Africa needs financial sector transformation to de-monopolise the banking sector, among others, and to diversify the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf following good governance protocols and ethics, accounts are closed to clamp down on corrupt activities, then that is reasonable. A clear and fair process should prevail, in that case, with all whom it may concern given the right information and the right to respond in a credible law enforcement process.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbuse of power, monopoly and dominance in the financial sector would be problematic, if that is what is at play. This, too, should be investigated and dealt with if it is the case. Beyond all this, South Africa needs financial sector transformation,\u201d said Mashilo.<\/p>\n

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said that banks just closed accounts and did not care about the consequences to holders of accounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething must be said publicly and the only way of doing that, of knowing, would be to challenge these people publicly in a court of law. The owner must tell of this ill-treatment, that he was not even warned and they just closed, but if it\u2019s in court we\u2019ll get all the details,\u201d Holomisa said.<\/p>\n

African Transformation Movement president Vuyo Zungula, said: \u201cIf you didn\u2019t know, we are in Apartheid 2.0, check how banks close certain accounts at will. How we still have apartheid legislation that hasn\u2019t been transformed to speak to the present day realities and empower the previous and currently disadvantaged black majority.”<\/p>\n

The Black Business Chamber (BBC) also slammed FNB\u2019s decision for its closure of AYO\u2019s banking accounts without providing reasons to the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BBC is disappointed and angry at the actions of First National Bank (FNB) to close AYO\u2019s banking account. This is even more disturbing, when according to the statement from AYO, FNB provided no reasons for the closure of its accounts,\u201d the organisation said.<\/p>\n

Nadiah Maharaj, FNB\u2019s chief risk officer, said: “FNB can confirm it has given reasonable notice to terminate its banking services to the client concerned. Due to the confidential nature of our client relationships, we cannot provide any further details on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Absa spokesperson Songezo Zibi said: “We do not comment on clients past, present or future clients. All things that pertain to clients are communicated with clients. We do not discuss clients.”<\/p>\n

The ANC did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.<\/p>\n

Political Bureau<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Johannesburg – Unions, business organisations and political parties have slammed the decision of First National Bank (FNB) to shut down the accounts of AYO Technologies, and accused the country\u2019s big four banks of being players in the country\u2019s factional politics, rather than protecting jobs. In an announcement on Thursday, AYO Technologies informed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":8661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-8662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nBank\u2019s move on AYO \u2019political meddling\u2019, say unions, political parties - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Johannesburg - Unions, business organisations and political parties have slammed the decision of First National Bank (FN ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/banks-move-on-ayo-political-meddling-say-unions-political-parties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bank\u2019s move on AYO \u2019political meddling\u2019, say unions, political parties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Johannesburg - 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