Johannesburg - The EFF has reiterated its calls for the Venda Building Society (VBS) to be saved through recapitalisation.
Questions around VBS’ financial stability came after the bank was placed under curatorship earlier this year after it faced a liquidity crisis.
In a report released last week, which was commissioned by the SA Reserve Bank, it was found that 53 people received various illegal payments from VBS over a couple of years. The payments amounted to R1.89 billion.
These illegal payments had placed the depositors’ monies at risk.
Advocate Terry Motau, who headed up the investigation into the bank, said in the report titled 'The Great Bank Heist' that it was unlikely that the bank could be saved.
This has angered the red berets who said this showed a bias by the SARB as it had assisted African Bank when it faced a liquidity crisis. The party questioned how the corrupt activity at VBS went unnoticed by the SARB. The party said the SARB could not allow for a "black bank" not to be saved as it had made a footprint in a white-dominated market.
“We had raised concerns in terms of the scope of intervention of the Reserve Bank and the PIC with the African Bank. So, when the intention that VBS would be placed under curatorship, we requested that the interventions must come with the recapitalisation,” said Shivambu.
“The intention was to protect the people that had made deposits into the bank but the Reserve Bank placed VBS under curatorship. What has been the role of the National Treasury preventing the collapse of banks?” asked Malema.
“The question we asked the Reserve Bank and the Governor was, how are you going to save jobs and how will you pay the curators? We have it under good authority that the curators are paying themselves from the money that is held in the VBS,” said Malema.
Malema said newly appointed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni should take swift action to come up with a plan to save VBS.
* Read more on the #VBSBankHeist
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