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INTERFIN FINANCIAL SERVICES is talking to three potential investors who are interested in bailing out its troubled banking subsidiary.
IFS is the holding company of Interfin Bank, which was shut down and put under the management of a curator by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last year following solvency challenges.
The curatorship runs up to June 2014. IFS, which was suspended from trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange following the problems at its banking division last year, said in an update to shareholders that it was still pursuing capitalisation and loan recovery initiatives for the bank.

“Three potential investors have expressed interest in investing into the bank and negotiations are currently underway,” said IFS chairman Mr Timothy Chiganze, without revealing the identity of the investors.

The new investors would be expected to capitalise Interfin Bank to meet the minimum capital threshold of US$100 million.
At the time of its closure, the bank had a negative core capital balance of US$93 million.

Meanwhile, Mr Chiganze said initiatives to recover the US$105,7 million which the institution was owed by various stakeholders were underway.

“Loan repayments by borrowers have remained very slow due to the number of cases in the courts and the tight liquidity conditions prevailing in the economy. As all the loans had been provided against, all collections will result in a reduction of the capital gap,” he said.
IFS said 248 summonses had been issued to the institution’s debtors, with at least US$500 000 having been recovered so far.

Recovery of the remainder depended on the outcome of pending court judgments, he said. Mr Chiganze said the group will hold its annual general meeting before the end of the year to update shareholders on progress made in turning around the institution.
IFS remains suspended from the ZSE as the local bourse saw it fit to protect the institution’s shareholders. — New Ziana.