The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issued an official statement through social media to deny reports which suggested People’s Own Savings Bank got sold to international investors.
Governor Dr. John Mushayavanhu from RBZ released a press statement on February 21, 2025 to deny receiving any applications or directives for POSB sale from the central bank.
Dr. Mushayavanhu declared that “The Reserve Bank has not received any application for POSB’s purchase from investors while it also lacks correspondence about the sale from Zimbabwean government authorities including President His Excellency.”
He clarified that all bank institution sales in Zimbabwe need formal approval from the Registrar of Banks together with Exchange Control and the country’s regulatory authorities.
According to Dr. Mushayavanhu the Reserve Bank would need to receive such an order from the approving authority if any such directive existed.
This response from the RBZ emerges during reports that suggest President Emmerson Mnangagwa wanted to secretly sell POSB to a Zanu PF-linked business consortium led by Morris Brown Gwedegwe.
The reports indicated the Hebrew Investment Group planned to buy a 70% share of POSB through a $70 million bank recapitalization investment.
The central bank has officially dismissed baseless reports about the purported sale of POSB to Zanu PF-associated interests by denying these claims and asking the public to disregard them.
The RBZ has provided assurance to POSB depositors together with the general public that POSB operates under government ownership with no authorized transactions involving its sale.
The central bank urged people to use official statements only because wrong information spread easily leading to decreased trust in Zimbabwe’s financial institutions.
Public trust was undermined due to unverified digital claims which spread quickly to generate unjustified public worry during this incident. The RBZ’s immediate confirmation works to protect both public confidence and Zimbabwe’s banking industry stability.
All stakeholders and members of the public should refer to verified news sources and RBZ official channels for official statements regarding the information.
It is essential to stay alert against false information spreads because this protects the stability of Zimbabwe’s financial system together with the public’s trust in its operations.
