Ithala Bank Clients Will Not Lose Their Money: Godongwana

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says a guarantee of R2 billion has been made available to ensure that whatever happens with Ithala Bank, the savings of depositors are protected.

Speaking to SABC News on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Godongwana says a plan has been devised to ensure that the social grant recipients using the bank are not affected by its possible liquidation.

The Prudential Authority of the Reserve Bank applied to the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the provisional liquidation of Ithala Bank after it established that the bank was insolvent.

The Prudential Authority has filed papers in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the provisional liquidation of Ithala bank, a move that will affect its 257 000 depositors.

The liquidation application means that depositors accounts will have to be closed to allow for the pending court processes.