BoB fines banks P1m for breaching liquidity limits
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Linah Mohohlo.PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO
“Towards the end of 2014, some banks experienced significant short-term liquidity shortages, to the extent that their liquid assets to total deposits ratio fell below the statutory prescribed limit. Consistent with the Banking Act, a monetary penalty fee of P892 263 was levied on all non-compliant banks,” said the central bank in the 2014 Banking Supervision Annual report.
The Banking Act prescribes that commercial banks are required to keep at least 10 percent of their assets in liquid form such as cash, BoB certificates and current account balances with domestic banks.
It is a clear signal that the government’s purse is empty and that our own behaviour has left veterinary officials fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. We have been here before. During COVID-19, many of us thought we knew better. We ignored simple rules, we carried on as if the danger was someone else’s problem, and the virus took lives and left our economy on its knees. We are still broke from that experience. Yet now, with FMD...