BUSINESS REPORTER
Financial services group, ZB Financial Holdings Limited (ZBFHL), has shaken up its board of directors at a time it is struggling to find answers to problems affecting its undercapitalised building society unit.
Business Times can report that board chairperson Pamela Chiromo and Jacob Mutevedzi, a board member, left their positions.
ZB has for the past few years now been struggling to recapitalise its building society.
The group had two options.
The first was to merge it with its commercial bank while the other was to surrender its licence as ZB seeks to comply with the minimum capital threshold set by the central bank.
ZB has in the past missed several Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe minimum capital requirements deadlines for its building society.
While the ZB Bank is compliant with the US$30m or the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent minimum capital requirement, ZB Building Society has been struggling to meet a capital requirement of US$20m or the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent.
Apparently, ZB the board has been struggling to reach closure on the two fronts.
“The ZB Financial Holdings board would like to advise members that (Pamela) Chiromo and (Jacob) Mutevedzi resigned from the board with effect from the 1st of July 2023.
The board, management and staff would like to thank (Pamela) Chiromo and (Jacob) Mutevedzi for their dedicated service and commitment to ZB Financial Holdings Limited,” company secretary Tinashe Masiyiwa (pictured) said.
In its trading update for the quarter to March 31, 2023, total revenue for the group increased by 655% to ZWL$34.414bn from ZWL$4.558bn reported in the prior comparative period.
The revenue growth was underpinned by growth in net income from lending activities and non-funded income.
Total assets for the group increased in historical terms by 20% to ZWL$381.537bn as at March 31 2023 from the total of ZWL$317.271bn as at December 31, 2022.
Income-earning assets constituted 64% of total assets as at March 31 2023 against 60% as at December 31, 2022.
The group maintained an aggregated liquidity rate above 60%, which is enough to accommodate short-term fluctuations in customer demands.
Asset quality remained strong with the non-performing loans ratio having been contained within the target rate of 5% throughout Q1 2023.
Deposits and other accounts increased to ZWL$153.70bn as at March 31 2023 from ZWL$109.21bn as at December 31, 2023.
The group’s total equity increased by 10% in Q1 2023closing at ZWL$160.747bn as at March 31, 2023.
