SME Bank liquidation judgment postponed
The SME Bank is still in provisional liquidation following the submission of an affidavit by lawyer Sisa Namandje, who is acting on behalf of minority shareholders Metropolitan Bank of Zimbabwe and World Eagle Properties.
Following the submission of the affidavit on Friday, Judge Hannelie Prinsloo extended the provisional liquidation of the SME Bank.
Her judgment will be delivered on 18 October.
The Bank of Namibia took control of the SME Bank on 2 March after it had come to light that between N$181 million and N$196 million had been invested in questionable financial instruments in South Africa.
The SME Bank was placed in provisional liquidation on 11 July, sealing the fate of 208 employees,
who are now jobless. The bank was placed under the management of liquidators Bruni and McLaren.
Depositors were guaranteed that they would get back up to N$25 000 of their money.
“All depositors are protected by law up to N$25 000. The claim process will be communicated to the public in due course. The extent of recoveries of deposits which exceed N$25 000 will depend on the outcome of the process,” the liquidators said.
They said the recovery of all outstanding loans from SME Bank was under way.
Bruni and McLaren said the liquidation of the SME Bank would be a complex one and did not want to comment on whether any bids had been received to acquire the SME Bank depositor book.
Oshili24 recently reported that First Capital was considering acquiring the defunct bank. Its CEO was quoted as saying they were keen to take control of the SME Bank.
“We have put together resources and we are eager to take the model that the bank operated on. It is a good model and we wish to continue with it considering the penetration the bank had made in a short space of time. Once the liquidators open up the tenders for the bank, we want to be the first in line,” said Martin Mwinga.
OGONE TLHAGE
Following the submission of the affidavit on Friday, Judge Hannelie Prinsloo extended the provisional liquidation of the SME Bank.
Her judgment will be delivered on 18 October.
The Bank of Namibia took control of the SME Bank on 2 March after it had come to light that between N$181 million and N$196 million had been invested in questionable financial instruments in South Africa.
The SME Bank was placed in provisional liquidation on 11 July, sealing the fate of 208 employees,
who are now jobless. The bank was placed under the management of liquidators Bruni and McLaren.
Depositors were guaranteed that they would get back up to N$25 000 of their money.
“All depositors are protected by law up to N$25 000. The claim process will be communicated to the public in due course. The extent of recoveries of deposits which exceed N$25 000 will depend on the outcome of the process,” the liquidators said.
They said the recovery of all outstanding loans from SME Bank was under way.
Bruni and McLaren said the liquidation of the SME Bank would be a complex one and did not want to comment on whether any bids had been received to acquire the SME Bank depositor book.
Oshili24 recently reported that First Capital was considering acquiring the defunct bank. Its CEO was quoted as saying they were keen to take control of the SME Bank.
“We have put together resources and we are eager to take the model that the bank operated on. It is a good model and we wish to continue with it considering the penetration the bank had made in a short space of time. Once the liquidators open up the tenders for the bank, we want to be the first in line,” said Martin Mwinga.
OGONE TLHAGE
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