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One of Ithala Bank branches.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli says the provincial government will continue to legally challenge any attempts by the Reserve Bank’s prudential authority to take over operations of Ithala Bank.
Ntuli says the provincial government welcomes the judgment by the High Court in Pietermaritzburg which barred the Repayment Administrator Johannes Kruger from taking over day-to day operations of Ithala.
The Reserve Bank’s Repayment Administrator found that the Ithala was technically and legally insolvent which put the depositors’ funds at risk.
Premier Ntuli held a media briefing in Durban today.
Over 200 000 clients of Ithala have been unable to access their funds from the institution for about three months now.
The financial institution was forced to suspend operations after the Reserve Bank’s prudential authority through its Repayment Administrator attempted to take full control of the daily operations of the institution.
A move that was challenged in court by the institution and the provincial government.
The High Court also ruled that the bank can resume operations.
“At the moment you can come to our branch, you can get insurance advice and all of that, but you can’t do over the counter services, we don’t take deposits. All the deposits that we had were legally collected up to December 15, 2023, they were legally in our hands, we are not a Ponzi scheme,” says Ithala CEO Dr. Thulani Vilakazi.
The provincial government has called for calm, urging clients to continue servicing their accounts.
“The PA and the RA they are adamant in destroying Ithala SOC Limited, that is why we are saying as the provincial government we will continue to defend Ithala using different means,” says Ntuli.
The Repayment Administrator has appealed the decision of the court.
Video: Ithala Bank – Liquidation will create financial disaster for poor communities
