Time Bank reopens

Time Bank Zimbabwe Limited, which was shut down by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under suspicious circumstances in 2004, is preparing to reopen.

Gedion Gono
Gedion Gono

The Central Bank has relicensed the bank after its clients waited a staggering six years for their valuables. Time Bank was set up in 1997 and was closed by the RBZ on allegations that it was insolvent, a charge denied by directors and shareholders.

Financial sector sources told The Zimbabwean that the RBZ lied about the financial position of Time Bank and that RBZ governor Gideon Gono closed the bank without even verifying its contents.

Time Bank appealed against the cancellation of its licence in the Administrative Court and won. Financial sector sources say Gono wanted to cover up the unjustifiable closure of the bank by refusing to do a normal-handover since July 2006.

The bank's recent advertisement to fill 34 vacancies attracted more than 30 000 applicants. It plans to transform itself from a commercial bank into an investment bank, deliberately opting to go on to the open market instead of recruiting staff through headhunting.

The bank's managing director, Takura Tande, said: "An instruction has been relayed to HR (Human Resources) to thoroughly go through each and every application to make sure that the 34 vacancies are filled according to best fit. I am excited. To me, it is a demonstration of the bank's popularity and its relevance in employment creation.”

Post published in: Business

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