MSB toxic loans go to Parliament
Lilongwe Mpenu legislator Eisenhower Mkaka wants Ministry of Finance to explain to Parliament the disposal of the then wholly State-owned Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) and progress towards recovering K6 billion toxic loans extended to some individuals and companies.
The parliamentarian further wants government to suspend establishment of Malawi Agriculture and Investment Corporation (Maic).
In a WhatsApp interview yesterday, Mkaka confirmed that he intends to move the motion demanding Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development to present in Parliament a report that details the sale of the bank and the recovery of the K6 billion toxic loans.
The motion also touches on Maic, the bank government intends to establish using the proceeds from MSB.
Reads the motion: “Considering that the nation has, since July 2016 when the Malawi Savings Bank [MSB] was hurriedly sold, not received any official report on the proceeds of sale of MSB and the attendant toxic assets.”
In the motion, Mkaka also wants operations of Maic suspended until the House normalises its formulation and operations.
In November 2018, President Peter Mutharika launched Maic, the bank that was established by Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development in conjunction with CDH Investment Bank at the value of K35 billion.
In 2016, government initiated the sale of State shareholding in two commercial banks, MSB and Indebank after failing to recapitalise them. Further, government issued promissory notes worth K6 billion to bail out about 12 individuals and companies that failed to pay back loans to MSB and established a loan recovery vehicle to recover the toxic loans. However, the money is yet to be recovered due to pending legal battles.
