General

MBABANE – People and businesses whose properties were attached by banks ‘unfairly’ are demanding compensation and restoration of their properties.

They have registered frustration with the pace at which the process to reclaim their properties is moving. Some have hired lawyers, while others have asked the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) to come to their rescue, as the supervisor of banks.

However, the CBE says it has investigated their concerns and managed to conclude 32 of the 35 cases submitted to it.

The property owners first formalised their frustration to the CBE in 2019, prompting the establishment of a mortgage loan processes, a form of investigation in the matter.

The then CBE Governor, Majozi Sithole, in a General Notice, communicated with the concerned clients, saying that their concerns would be dealt with.

An update was further issued by the bank in June 2021 to the public on the review.

Reads the notice in part: “The bank advises members of the public, particularly those who submitted complaints, that it (the bank) has since directed the concerned financial institutions to have engagements with them. The purpose of the engagements is to enable settlement of the disputes, where applicable. The settlements should be in line with the conclusions and recommendations contained in the reports of the consultants who conducted the review.”

The bank further said it had given a deadline of two months to each institution, within which the engagements had to be conducted.

“Upon conclusion of the engagements, each concerned financial institution shall submit a comprehensive report to the bank for consideration. The report will detail the process and the outcomes of these engagements. The bank shall consider the submitted report, against the backdrop of the consultant’s report and any other information at its disposal.

The bank employed the services of SNG Thornton, one of the world’s leading organisations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms, to investigate. The firm is said to have executed the assignment and reported back to its principal.

However, years later, the property owners allege that their protestations have not yielded results.

Prior to 2021, banks loaned to various clients for the acquisition of property or the construction of immovable properties in various parts of the country. Some of these properties were of business nature, while others were purely residential.

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CBE: Consumers have right to redress in unresolved cases

MBABANE – The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) says consumers have the right to redress in unresolved cases.

Head Strategy and Communications Mandla Luphondvo said the concerned people have the liberty to pursue other avenues in exercise of this right.

He was responding to questions from this publication on what recourse the banks’ customers have in their pursuit of justice.

“We confirm that the Mortgage Review exercise dealt with individual complaints and any consequent remedial measures, or redress mechanisms consistent with the recommendations of the review report were taken and communicated to all parties, including the complainants,” he said. When asked if the report can be made public, he responded: “Please note that in terms of Sections 43 and 44 of the Financial Institutions Act, 2005, alongside Section 20 of the CBS Order, 1974, the Central Bank is unable to disclose any information relating to this process.

“The law does not permit the bank to publish or disclose to any person any information relating to the affairs of any financial institution or other person, including any customer of a financial institution, which it has acquired in the performance of its duties or the exercise of its functions.”

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‘For how much was my property sold?’

MBABANE – The Central Bank of Eswatini found that one of the banks failed to provide its aggrieved client with the necessary information on her auctioned property.

The bank may not be named for now, pending the investigations.

To assist the client, the CBE had to obtain the customer engagement report from the bank concerned. It then referred to the report of the forensic investigation report by SNG Grant Thornton SA and responded to the bank’s client.

“The Central Bank has since considered the report together with the engagement report from the bank. After careful analysis the Central Bank has reached the conclusion that the bank has failed to provide compliance documents to yourself with the information pertaining to when and at what value the properties were sold for. The Central Bank has also found that the bank failed to account to yourselves on the valuation done before selling the machinery at Lot 617,” said the CBE in a letter dated May 23, 2022.

*Full article available in our publication.

Customers of banks want justice after their houses were reposessed and resold. (Pic: fortune.com)