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RBZ Governor John Mangudya

Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (Zamco) has so far acquired $157 million of the $750 million Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in the banking sector.

Zamco is an independent asset management firm established with a view to resolve the scourge of non-performing loans by buying out their collaterised loan books from commercial banks.

Presenting the mid-term monetary policy statement yesterday, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya said the asset management entity had started making headway in stabilising financial services in the country.

“To date, Zamco has acquired and restructured $157 million,” he said.

The entity was formed in 2014 and became operational this year.

Its role is to ensure financial institutions are put in a state where they can confidently resume trading and lending.

Under Zamco, the RBZ would not take over any loans which were recklessly given without appropriate security.

Mangudya said the banking sector’s aggregate ratio of NPLs to total loans had improved from a peak of 20,45 percent in June 2014 to 14,52 percent as at June 30, 2015.

“The exclusion of Tetrad, which is under provisional judicial management, further improves the ratio to 13,15 percent. Against a background of high levels of NPLs, and their economic wide implications, the RBZ has instituted holistic measures to resolve NPLs in the banking sector,” he said.

Mangudya said banks had also instituted various measures to resolve the NPLs including the formation of dedicated loan recovery units, refining of credit underwriting standards as well as restructuring of some facilities.