By Anele Zuma
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli has pledged support for Ithala Bank after a court judgment that says the bank can continue to operate. “We will continue supporting Ithala Bank through this challenging period, to keep it alive,” said Ntuli.
For the past few months, those that utilise the bank haven’t been able to withdraw their monies. “Also note that the funds for those banking with the institution are safely kept,” Ntuli assured those that are still worried.
Problems started as Prudential Authority (PA) had filed for Ithala’s liquidation in January.
Ithala wouldn’t be the first bank that came from the old Bantustan structure to be liquidated because of alleged mismanagement of funds. Limpopo’s VBS was another, but Ntuli is optimistic that it will be different in KwaZulu-Natal and even asks the province’s municipalities to bank with them.
Ithala CEO, Thulani Vilakazi, says the last few months have had misconceptions and disinformation. “We don’t have deposits – I mean you cannot say an allowance received by a person due to them such as social grants is a deposit. Misleading information has made the public believe the institution is some kind of a scam.”
It doesn’t seem like full banking services will be available just yet. “Clients are welcome to come to our branches for insurance advice, but we don’t offer Over-The-Counter (OTC) services,” Vilakazi added.
Despite the court ruling, it doesn’t seem over for Ithala as one media report says PA will be appealing the decision.
