Suspension leaves users’ nerves on edge

The sanction applied by the Bank of Mozambique to Standard Bank and two of its top managers , two weeks ago, continues to irritate the bank’s customers, and many others, Carta de Moçambique reports. Most recently, it was the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) who went public and complained that the suspension of the Standard Bank’s activities in the foreign exchange market had created uncertainty and speculation in the business sector and the banking fabric generally. Private sector businesspeople also say that the central bank’s announcement found them unprepared, given that there was no prior notice of the central bank’s decision or of any offence that Standard Bank might have committed.

Another critic of the Bank of Mozambique’s heavy sentence is economist Roberto Tibana. On his Facebook page, Tibana criticises the inconvenience of the available alternatives in the context of the suspension, but, above all, condemns the lack of clarity in the Bank of Mozambique statement. “In my opinion, the Bank of Mozambique has not yet explained the real causes of Standard Bank’s suspension from foreign exchange operations, much less mentioned why Standard Bank customers, [who are] not involved in the problem, should suffer inconveniences not adequately prevented, and losses not reimbursed,” the economist writes. The lack of clarity that Tibana refers to is the failure to detail the actual irregularities committed by Standard Bank and its managers, although he does not rule out that the involved parties might have broken the law. “I am not saying here that Standard Bank and its managers did not commit irregularities. This I don’t know, because, despite saying that there were irregularities, the Bank of Mozambique does not specifically tell us what they were. Nor am I saying that Standard Bank should not be sanctioned, if it has committed any irregularity,” Tibana writes.

But the economist does complains of having his rights as a user of the sanctioned bank violated. “The Bank of Mozambique is violating my rights, and in practice punishing me without reason or guilt; the Bank of Mozambique is incongruous and lacks morality in at least some of the justifications it publicly presents for the measures it has taken,” the economist says. Tibana questions the Bank of Mozambique communiqué sentence by sentence to justify his disappointment regarding the bank’s alleged lack of clarity.

“The Bank of Mozambique says that one of the offences committed by Standard Bank and some of its executives includes the (I quote ): ‘i) fraudulent manipulation of the exchange rate’. The question is, what actually did Standard Bank do that constitutes manipulation, and fraudulent, too, of exchange rates? In which market segments did Standard Bank manipulate the exchange rate? In the interbank [rate], that is, between itself and other banks including the Bank of Mozambique? 

In retail, that is, when it converts my remittances from abroad which enter my [bank] account in US dollars and which, according to the rules, I can only access to convert them into meticais, and only at the same bank? Or both? Or in other operations, such as for example, in facilitating payments by companies abroad? And who was harmed by this manipulation? Me, the Bank of Mozambique, other banks, or the State?” Tibana asks. He also seeks to know the extent to which Standard Bank financially benefited from this manipulation. Tibana says that, in his view, without answering these questions publicly, “the Bank of Mozambique is making a hollow and, therefore, less legitimate allegation, to infringe my interests and limit my rights (for example, the right to the free choice of with whom I want to carry out my financial transactions)”. Regarding manipulation, Tibana says the Bank of Mozambique itself harmed exporters “when it flooded the market with US dollars, causing an artificial appreciation of the metical and causing losses for companies” – an action also criticized by Minister Celso Correia, echoing producers’ complaints.

The Bank of Mozambique’s sanctions on Standard Bank also drew comment from Abdul Magid Osman , former minister of finance [1986 – 1991] and of mineral resources [1979-1983].The former minister finds the sanction too severe, and says the government is – as usual – ignoring the damage that the measure is causing customers.

“For example, GAIN, an NGO, which has US dollars in Standard Bank, cannot convert them into meticais to pay salaries, nor can it transfer these US dollars to other banks. How is an international organisation going to open accounts at other banks and bring in money from abroad? Vodacom, which only worked with Standard Bank, has numerous invoices to pay suppliers, which it cannot now do. And so on. At least the US dollars that are sitting in Standard Bank should be made available to other banks through the intermediation of Bank of Mozambique, otherwise we will be creating an artificial stress on the exchange rate,” Osman concludes.