MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT


“ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTER-BANK FOREIGN EXCHANGE
MARKET TO RESTORE COMPETITIVENESS”


RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE

20 FEBRUARY 2019

CONTENTS


ANNEXURE I: GLOBAL & DOMESTIC ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL
CONDITIONS UNDERPINNING CURRENT MONETARY POLICY


ANNEXURE VI DEVELOPMENTS ON THE ZIMBABWE STOCK

ANNEXURE VII STATUS AND CONDITION OF MICROFINANCE


ANNEXURE IX NATIONAL PAYMENT

LIST OF TABLES
Table 8: Total Nostro FCA and RTGS FCA Balances Summary as at 31
Table 11: Key Performance Indicators, September 2017 to September 2018.... 55

LIST OF FIGURES

SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION

Since the last Monetary Policy Statement on 1st October 2018, Zimbabwe has
witnessed significant changes on the economic front. The economy took a
different course of direction from a positive economic trajectory to an inflationary
environment. This situation needs immediate redress in order to restore value for
money. The foreign exchange premiums on the parallel market which ranged
from 1.40 to 1.80 to the US dollar in September 2018 increased to the current
levels of between 3.00 to 4.00. This movement in forex premiums has had
negative pass-through effects on inflation which increased particularly from the
September year-on-year level of 5.4% to 20.9% in October and closed the year at
42.09%.

On the positive side, the separation of bank accounts into NOSTRO FCAs and
RTGS FCAs has yielded positive results as reflected by the significant increase
in the Nostro FCAs to US$451.2 million as at 31st January 2019, compared to
US$240.5 million at the beginning of October 2018, a growth of 87.6%.

The significant shift in economic fundamentals during the last quarter of 2018
also increased the practice by retailers of charging goods and services on the basis
of a multi-tier pricing system, where a single product has different prices
depending on the mode of payment e.g. USD cash, electronic payment, mobile
money and bond notes. This situation has continued to put pressure on the
country’s balance of payments position.

The current pricing structure indicates that the majority of transactions in the
economy are now largely being conducted in electronic money and bond notes at

an implied parallel market exchange rate of around 3.0 to 3.5 to the USD. In this
respect, continuing to use the USD as a unit of account in the economy, when its
value has drifted away from the value of the RTGS denominated money supply
has brought forth a number of challenges. The challenges include multi-tier
pricing by business, speculative pricing, loss of government revenue, valuation
and accounting difficulties, asset-liability mismatches and negative investor
confidence.

The current monetary arrangements, if maintained, could pose the risk of a costly
re-dollarisation of the economy which will move the economy into a recession.
This is evidenced by the fact that some businesses are already gradually reducing
prices due to low demand in the economy. Moreover, some of those charging in
foreign currency have also been experiencing reduced demand for their products
and are, thus, reverting to pricing in RTGS and/or bond notes.

Exporters on the other hand, are fast becoming uncompetitive as the export
incentive scheme has been eroded by the forex premiums induced inflation. Such
a scenario is not conducive for enhancing exports and diaspora remittances.
Introduction of a market determined mechanism for trading of US dollars with
RTGS balances and bond notes has become imperative. Similarly, without a
formal guidance on the relative values of the RTGS, bond notes and the USDs,
the transacting public is currently being prejudiced through ad hoc pricing by
businesses which factor in different implied parallel market exchange rates in
their pricing systems. This needs to be corrected.

This Statement, therefore, presents policies aimed at establishing a trading
mechanism of RTGS balances and bond notes with international currencies
through establishing an inter-bank foreign exchange market to restore domestic
competitiveness and promote growth. The measures are also meant to strengthen

demand for the domestic forms of payment and to preserve foreign currency for
external payments purposes that include importation of goods and services,
foreign dividend payments, business and personal travel and servicing of
country’s external obligations. The measures in this Statement are necessary to
preserve the purchasing power of RTGS money and to restore export
competitiveness within the economy.

The rest of the monetary policy statement is organised as follows. Section two
discusses the new monetary policy measures. Section three discusses the outlook
and conclusion. The statement also contains an Annex which looks at the global
and domestic economic and financial developments.

SECTION TWO
NEW MONETARY POLICY MEASURES

1. Establishment of an Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market

The Bank has taken note of the excellent contributions from the business
community, bankers, the academia, the media and members of the public on the
need to establish an inter-bank foreign exchange market to formalise the selling
and buying of US$s through banks and bureaux de change. This is essential in
order to bring sanity in the foreign currency market whilst at the same time
promoting exports, diaspora remittances and investments for the good of our
national economy.

The Bank considered the implications - accounting, financial, economic, legal
and social - that are embedded in the establishment of an inter-bank forex market
within the context of the current national payment systems made up of RTGS,
mobile payment platforms, point of sale (POS), bond notes and coins.

After taking account of the implications and putting in place safeguards to
maintain stability in the forex market, the Bank is, with immediate effect,
establishing an inter-bank foreign exchange market in Zimbabwe to
formalise the trading of RTGS balances and bond notes with US$s and other
currencies on a willing-buyer willing-seller basis through banks and bureaux
de change under the following framework:

i.
Denominating the existing RTGS balances, bond notes and coins in
circulation as RTGS dollars in order to establish an exchange rate between
the current monetary balances and foreign currency. The RTGS dollars

thus become part of the multi-currency system in Zimbabwe. The legal
instrument to give effect to this has been prepared.

ii.
The RTGS dollars shall be used by all entities (including government) and
individuals in Zimbabwe for the purposes of pricing of goods and services,
record debts, accounting and settlement of domestic transactions.

iii.
The use of RTGS dollars for domestic transactions will eliminate the
existence of the multi-pricing system and charging of goods and services
in foreign currency within the domestic economy. In this regard, prices
should remain at their current levels and or to start to decline in sympathy
with the stability in the exchange rate given that the current monetary
balances have not been changed. In this respect, the RBZ will commit all
its efforts to use the instruments at its disposal to maintain stability of the
exchange rate.

iv.
The Bank has arranged sufficient lines of credit to enable it to maintain
adequate foreign currency to underpin the foreign exchange market. This
is essential to restore the purchasing power of RTGS balances through
safeguarding price stability emanating from the pass-through effects of
exchange rate movements.

v.
Foreign currency from the inter-bank market shall be utilised for current
bonafide foreign payment invoices except for education fees.

vi.
All foreign liabilities or legacy debts due to suppliers and service providers
such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), declared
dividends, etc shall be treated separately after registering such transactions
with Exchange Control for the purposes of providing the Bank with

sufficient information that will allow it to determine the roadmap for
orderly expunging the legacy debt.

vii.
Foreign currency requirements for Government expenditure and other
essential commodities that include, fuel, cooking oil, electricity, medicines
and water chemicals shall continue to be made available through the
existing letters of credit facilities and/or the Foreign Exchange Allocations
Committee.

viii.
Banks shall report activities of the inter-bank foreign currency market to
the Bank that shall closely monitor the foreign currency trades on a daily
basis using the form and format stipulated by the Bank.

ix.
Bureaux de change shall be authorised to purchase foreign currency
without limits but shall be limited to sell foreign currency for small
transactions such as subscriptions, business and personal travel up to a
maximum aggregate daily limit of US$10 000 per bureau de change. Like
with banks, bureaux de change and their agents shall report their activities
of the inter-bank on a daily basis as required by the Bank.

x.
In order to allow exporters to benefit from the inter-bank foreign currency
market and to promote uninterrupted supply of forex in the economy, the
export retention thresholds which are in line with regional practice shall be
as follows:

Table 1: Current and Proposed Retention Thresholds
Sector
Level
Manufacturing

Gold (Large scale producers)

Gold (Small scale producers)

All other minerals

Tobacco & cotton merchants (for input schemes)

Tobacco & cotton growers

Horticulture

Transport

Tourism

xi.
Similarly, in order to enhance liquidity within the foreign currency market,
exporters shall be entitled to utilise their retained export receipts within 30
days, after which the unutilised export receipts will be offloaded into the
market at the prevailing market exchange rate.

xii.
All international remittances and individual funds received from offshore
shall continue to be treated as free funds.

2. Local Settlement of Nostro FCA Transfers
Given the successful completion of the separation of RTGS FCAs and Nostro
FCAs, the Bank is, with effect from 25th February 2019, putting in place a local
Nostro FCAs settlement platform to allow for domestic inter-bank settlement of
Nostro FCA transfers.

3. Liquidity Management

To anchor price stability, the Bank shall aggressively intervene in the market to
sterilize liquidity so as to help contain inflationary and exchange rate pressures.
The Bank will also implement a monetary targeting framework, with monetary
aggregates as operational targets for monetary policy. Under this framework, the

Bank will appropriately target growth in base money with a view to help stabilize
and anchor macroeconomic stability. The existing monetary policy instruments,
including continued issuance of savings bonds and changes in the statutory
reserve requirements, will be instrumental in achieving the reserve money target.
The fiscal stance taken by Government to reduce recourse to Central Bank
overdraft and to limit the overdraft to statutory levels will provide further impetus
on the Bank’s ability to contain pressures in the goods and foreign exchange
market.

4. IFRS 9 Implementation

Following the initial publication of International Financial Reporting Standard
(IFRS) 9 compliant interim financial statements for the period ended 30 June
2018, banks will be publishing 2018 year–end accounts by 31 March 2019. The
implementation of IFRS 9 represents a significant milestone in financial stability
enhancement due to the forward-looking nature of provisions set under the new
standard.

5. Macro-Prudential Policy Framework

As part of ongoing initiatives to strengthen the stability and resilience of the
financial system, the Bank is putting in place a macro-prudential policy
framework which will be operational by 30 June 2019. The framework provides
for effective macro-prudential tools, appropriate governance, transparency, and
accountability arrangements that facilitate identification of the build-up of
systemic risks, and monitoring thereof, to ensure appropriate measures are taken
in a timely manner.

6. Anti-money Laundering Measures

Zimbabwe is party to various international legal instruments that require
countries to put in place robust Anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing
of Terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks, to prevent the financial system from being
misused by criminals for purposes of money laundering, financing of terrorism
or other illicit purposes.

Banks and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs),
including lawyers, accountants, estate agents, casinos and precious stone and
precious metal dealers, play a key role in identifying and reporting of suspected
cases of money laundering and related criminal activity within the financial
system.

Banks have reached acceptable levels in the implementation of AML/CFT
requirements. Going forward, the Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit will be
placing greater focus towards ensuring compliance by DNFBPs, including
through invocation of administrative penalties prescribed under the Money
Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act. The Bank calls upon all stakeholders
with various roles in the fight against money laundering, including agencies
involved in the identification, investigation and prosecution of money laundering
cases, to work diligently to improve the effectiveness of the country’s AML/CFT
regime.

7. Cyber Risk Management

The Bank is aware that cyber risk will keep changing due to the evolution of cyber
threats in the country and indeed across the globe. Financial institutions and

individuals are increasingly being exposed to cyber-attacks which have become
more sophisticated, frequent, targeted and difficult to identify The Bank urges
payment services providers and banks board of directors and senior management
to;

i.
Intensify their efforts and take responsibility for setting, overseeing the
strategy and ensure that cyber risks are accorded due consideration;
ii.
Update cyber security policies, strategies and frameworks and submit the
same to the Central Bank by 31 March 2019;
iii.
Ensure that Information Technology (IT) objectives include maintaining the
capacity to effectively anticipate, identify and recover from cyber security
attacks for overall IT resilience; and
iv.
Immediately make a report whenever an institution becomes aware of cyber
security incidences within its system which adversely impact on the
customers or the ecosystem.

8. Migration to Euro Mastercard Visa (EMV) Technology

Further to the cyber security guidance, market participants are required to migrate
to Euro MasterCard and Visa (EMV) standards to ensure enhanced card security
features to curb cyber related activities. Currently, over 80% of the card
infrastructure in the country is now EMV compliant. Financial institutions should
therefore ensure that all cards issued in the market are EMV compliant by 31
March 2019.

SECTION THREE
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND CONCLUSION

The inter-bank foreign exchange system will have significant positive effects on
the economy’s external and fiscal sectors, domestic production and on the welfare
of citizens. The system is envisaged to go a long way in rebalancing the economy
and setting it on a sustainable growth trajectory. As such, Zimbabwe’s short to
medium term macroeconomic outlook following the implementation of the interbank market will derive character from sustained positive growth, external sector
sustainability and increased capacity utilization in the productive sectors of the
economy.

In particular, the new framework is set to bring certainty, predictability and
functionality to the economy’s foreign exchange market. This, in turn, will
address the valuation and unit of account difficulties that has been constraining
investment flows into the country. In this regard, investment inflows are projected
to improve going forward and this will drive growth on account of opening of
new businesses as well as improved availability of foreign exchange for domestic
industries.

Furthermore, the fair alignment of the exchange rate is set to trigger an
expenditure switching effect across the economy which will benefit local
producers, thereby, limiting imports of consumptive goods and services.
Similarly the measures are set to encourage export growth as the market
determined exchange rate improves external competitiveness of domestic
producers that include tobacco and cotton growers.

On the fiscal front, the inter-bank foreign currency system is envisaged to
enhance fair valuation of imports at points of entry. This has potential to

significantly improve government revenues and enhance sustainability of the
country’s fiscal balance.

Overall, the measures contained in this Statement are expected to improve the
competitiveness of the economy by appropriately rewarding exporters whilst at
the same time reducing price distortions and arbitrage within the domestic
market. The Bank commits all its efforts to reduce inflation within growth
enhancing levels, while minimizing the adverse effects of a tight monetary
framework in order to enhance production and productivity in the country.

I THANK YOU.


JOHN MANGUDYA
GOVERNOR

ANNEX

ANNEXURE I

GLOBAL
AND
DOMESTIC
ECONOMIC
AND
FINANCIAL
CONDITIONS UNDERPINNING CURRENT MONETARY POLICY
DECISIONS

Global and Regional Economic Developments
Global economic activity is estimated to have moderated to 3.0% in 2018 from
3.1% in 2017, occasioned by softened recoveries in trade and manufacturing
activity. Recovery in international trade and investment has tapered while trade
disputes, particularly between the U.S. and China, remained elevated despite
negotiations to ease the tensions and broker a favourable deal. In addition, a
strengthening U.S. dollar, elevated financial market volatility, and rising risk
premiums, in part, exacerbated capital outflow and currency pressures in some
emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) resulting in substantial
financial market vulnerabilities. The table below summarizes global economic
growth developments and prospects for selected regions and countries.

Table 2: Global Economic Growth & Outlook (%)

Estimate

Projection
World Output

Advanced Economies

US

Euro Area

Japan

Emerging Market & Developing

China

India

Sub-Saharan Africa

Zimbabwe1

Latin America & the Caribbean

Source: World Bank: Global Economic Prospects (January 2019 Update)

1 Zimbabwe growth rates are from Treasury, Reserve Bank & Zimstat

In 2019, global economic growth is projected to decelerate to 2.9% as economic
activity remains anaemic on the backdrop of slowing global trade, coupled with
tightening of monetary policy in advanced economies.

Economic growth has weakened in most advanced economies, save for the United
States, where expansionary fiscal policy is enhancing activity. Economic activity
in all major advanced economies is projected to ease towards potential output
levels in the medium term, mainly attributed to falling capacity and the interest
rate pressures that will emanate from the withdrawal of monetary
accommodation. The Eurozone’s growth eased to 1.9% in 2018, from 2.4%
registered in 2017, mainly as a result of the fall in export earnings emanating from
a stronger euro and lower external demand. Growth in the Eurozone is projected
to further decelerate to 1.6% in 2019 owing to tighter monetary policy and the
moderation in growth of global trade.

Japan’s growth momentum slowed to an estimated 0.8% in 2018, down from
1.9% in 2017, mainly attributed to adverse weather conditions and natural
disasters. In 2019, economic activity is expected to recover from natural setbacks
experienced in 2018 and growth is projected to increase to 0.9% in 2019. In
China, activity remains robust, but downside risks are increasing in a context of
heightened trade tensions with the United States. Growth is projected to
decelerate to 6.2% in 2019, slightly below previous projections as a result of
weaker exports.

Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa for 2018 is estimated at 2.7%, up from
2.6% in 2017, is expected to further increase to 3.4% in 2019, with a high degree
of variation across countries. Growth is mainly be supported by firmer
commodity prices. Potential downside risks include rising public debt, financial

sector strains and low external buffers. Public debt is high not only in oil
exporting countries but in many fast-growing economies as well. Zimbabwe’s
growth rate, which significantly outpaced average Sub-Saharan region’s growth
rate in 2017 and 2018, will slow down marginally to 3.1% in 2019, owing to the
contractionary impact of austerity measures and economic reforms.

Commodity Price Developments
International commodity prices generally fluctuated in 2018, with precious
metals weighed down by weak investment demand and a strengthening United
States dollar. Energy prices recovered in response to stable demand and falling
stocks. In particular, prices for crude oil fluctuated noticeably in the second half
of 2018, mainly due to supply factors, with sharp declines toward the end of the
year. Base metals were hurt by weak demand outlook from China and escalating
trade tensions between the United States and China, including the imposition of
tariffs on a range of products. The World Bank, however, projects commodity
prices to stabilize in 2019 following sharp movements in 2018.

Figure 1: Commodity Price Indices (2010 = 100): 2015 to 2018
Source: World Bank 2019

2015M1
2015M4
2015M7
2015M10
2016M1
2016M4
2016M7
2016M10
2017M1
2017M4
2017M7
2017M10
2018M1
2018M4
2018M7
2018M10
Energy
Base Metals
Precious Metals

Precious Metal Prices

Precious metals were generally subdued in 2018, occasioned by weak safe haven
demand and a generally stronger dollar owing to interest rate hikes by the Federal
Reserve during the year. These developments significantly raised opportunity
costs of holding precious metals such as gold and platinum. Furthermore, a
general waning in global tensions diminished safe haven demand for precious
metals. The moderation in commodity prices calls for increased production in
commodity dependent economies such as Zimbabwe, so as to compensate for the
potential revenue losses.

Base Metals

Base metal prices which firmed in the first half of last year fell sharply in the
second half following the imposition of broad-based tariffs by the United States
on China’s imports. Intensified trade tensions involving these economies have
raised market concerns about global trade and investment prospects and as a
result, they have clouded the outlook for demand for most commodities.
Particularly, industrial metals have been particularly responsive to these concerns
given their many uses in the manufacture of tradable goods, with some metals
such as nickel falling sharply.

Crude Oil Prices

Oil prices averaged $68/barrel in 2018, amid robust global oil consumption and
supply-side factors. Ongoing declines in production in Venezuela and market
concerns about the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran contributed to strong crude
oil prices, which peaked at $86/barrel in early October 2018. However, prices fell

sharply in November after the United States announced temporary waivers to the
sanctions on Iran for eight countries, including China and India. The decline in
prices also reflected continued rapid growth in oil production in the United States,
as well as a substantial increase in supply by the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Russian Federation. The World Bank
projected oil prices to average $67/barrel in 2019. The anticipated decline in oil
prices will help dissipate inflation in Zimbabwe, which is threatened by domestic
factors associated with foreign exchange shortfalls in the economy.

Gold Deliveries to Fidelity Printers & Refineries

In 2018, gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers & Refiners reached 33.2 tonnes, a
record high for the country, which also surpassed the year’s target of 30 tonnes.
This represents a 33.9% increase from 24.8 tonnes delivered in 2017. Notably,
small scale producers, despite facing a plethora of challenges, continued to
dominate the country’s gold deliveries, accounting for 65.3% of the total
deliveries, with the primary producers contributing the remainder. Deliveries of
gold by small scale producers increased by 64.5% from 13.2 tonnes in 2017 to
21.7 tonnes in 2018.

Figure 2: Gold Deliveries to Fidelity Printers (Kgs): Jan to Dec 2018
Source: Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR), 2018

The marked increase in gold deliveries was realized against the background of
strong Government and RBZ support and incentives to further boost production
and exports.


1,160

1,183
1,033
1,086


Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Primary producers
Small Scale producers
Total Gold Purchased

ANNEXURE II
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEVELOPMENTS

The country’s external sector position has largely remained under considerable
pressure, due to excessive foreign currency demand against the foreign currency
inflows. This pressure is manifested through persistent and large trade and current
account deficits that the economy has been recording since 2009. While exports
of goods and services have been on an upward trend, this has been offset by the
increase in imports of goods and services on the back of domestic supply gaps
and rising international oil prices.

Current Account
The current account deficit sharply deteriorated from US$246 million in the first
three quarters quarter of 2017 to US$935.8 million for the same period in 2018,
reflecting a surge in imports against a background of subdued exports. The annual
deficit is estimated to have widened to $1 029 million in 2018 compared to
US$286.2 million in 2017.

Figure 3: Merchandise Trade Developments (US$ million)
Source: RBZ BOP Database
Merchandise exports increased by 9.8% from US$3 103 million in the first three
quarters of 2017 to US$3 407.4 million for the same period in 2018 underpinned
by growth in both mineral and manufactured exports. Mineral exports accounted
for 60.5% of the total merchandise exports while agriculture and manufactured
exports accounted for 22.6% and 16.9% of the total exports, respectively.

Exports are estimated to have registered an 11.5% growth to US$4 809.9 million
in 2018, from US$4 313.0 million in 2017 as mineral, agriculture and
manufactured exports all increased. Gold, flue-cured tobacco, nickel,
ferrochrome, chrome, industrial diamonds, jewellery, cotton, platinum and cane
sugar dominated the country’s export basket, contributing above 80% of the
country’s exports.

-500

Exports
Imports
Current Account Balance

Merchandise imports increased from US$4 031.5 million in the first three
quarters of 2017 to about US$5 258.7 million during the same period in 2018
largely reflecting a growing economy. The country’s major imports were fuel
(diesel and petrol), electricity, machinery, raw materials and vehicles. In 2018,
merchandise imports are estimated to have registered a moderate growth of
28.45%, from US$5 462.2 million in 2017 to US$7 018.4 million in 2018. The
growth in imports was largely driven by non-food imports. Fuel imports increased
on account of rising crude oil prices and increased consumer and industrial
demand.

Services Account Developments
Services exports improved during the first three quarters of 2018 while imports
sharply dropped. Driven by travel and transport, services exports are estimated
to have increased by 15.5% from US$337.9 million in 2017 to US$390.1 million
in 2018. Transport exports increased in line with increasing merchandise trade
while activity in the tourism and travel sector has gone up since end 2017 with
most hotels reporting huge improvement in room occupancy levels.

On the other hand, services imports collapsed from US$837.9 million in the first
three quarters of 2017 to US$619.4 million for the same period in 2018 driven by
declines in travel, transport and other business services. Imports of services are
largely being affected by foreign currency challenges. The increase in services
export receipts coupled with a decline in services imports payments resulted in
the improvement in the services account balance.

Services imports are estimated to have declined by 18.5% from US$1 092.7
million in 2017 to US$890.4 million in 2018, largely reflecting acute foreign
currency shortages that the country is facing. On the other hand, services exports

are estimated to have increased by 25.4% from US$418.9 million in 2017 to
US$525.1 million in 2018, underpinned by freight and travel.

Primary Income Account Developments
The country has consistently registered a negative balance on its primary income
account, implying that the country is a net importer of capital. This account
mainly records non-resident transactions on returns to labour and capital in the
form of compensation of employees, interest on scheduled payments, dividends
and re-invested earnings.

Secondary Income Account Developments
Secondary income flows are second largest contributor of foreign currency to the
country after exports. The account mainly records transfers to Non-Profit
Institutions Serving Households (NPISHs) and personal transfers; i.e. transfers
that a migrants makes to the country of origin.

Secondary income account receipts slightly decreased in 2018 following declines
in personal remittances. Personal remittances declined in 2018 possibly reflecting
in-formalisation of remittances flows in light of the foreign currency shortages in
the country. Exchange rate depreciation in major the source countries (SA and
UK) also had an effect. Transfers to NIPISHs, however, increased in 2018
particularly in 2018 Q2 probably on account of elections related inflows.

Financial Account Developments
The country remained a net importer of capital with the financial account balance
widening in 2018, on account of increased foreign direct investment inflows.
Inflows of short and long term debt and portfolio investment inflows were
however subdued. Net debt creating inflows declined from US$685.4 million in
2017 to US$418.4 million in 2018. Net foreign direct investment into the country

is estimated to have increased from US$307.2 million in 2017 to US$456.6
million in 2018.

Foreign Currency Receipts

The Global Foreign Currency for the period January – December 2018 amounted to
US$6.3 billion compared to US$5.5 billion received during the same period in 2017,
representing a 13.9% increase in foreign currency supply. The table below shows
Global foreign currency receipts by source;

Table 3: Global Foreign Currency Receipts (USD million)
Type of Receipt
Week

%
Contribution

Week

%
Contribution

%
Change

Export
Proceeds


International
Remittances
Diaspora
Remittance
s

NGOs

Loan
Proceeds


Income
receipts


Foreign
Investment


TOTAL


Source: Exchange Control Records and Bank Supervision Application System (BSA)

Export proceeds contributed 68% of the total global receipts for the fifty-two
weeks of 2018, while international money transfers accounted for about 17%.
Export proceeds have continued to be the major source of liquidity for the country

International Remittances declined by 19% from US$1.4 billion received in 2017 to
US$1.1 billion received in 2018. Of the US$1.4 billion, Diaspora remittances
contributed US$619, 2 million, a decline of 11.4% as compared to US$699 million
received in 2017. The decline of diaspora remittances is mainly attributed to the
preference to send in-kind, remittances by the Diaspora, and the interception of
remittances in South Africa by cross border traders. South Africa contributes about
34% of the total Diaspora remittances.

Private Sector Debt
In the year 2018, Exchange Control approved and registered a total of 140
external loan facilities with a monetary value of US$1.28 billion. A 3% increase
in the total approvals from the US$1.23 billion recorded in 2017, was observed
as shown on the table below.

Table 4: External Loan Approvals per Sector
Sector
2017 Facility
Approvals (US$)
2018 Facility
Approvals (US$)
Variance
(US$)
Variance
(%)
Agriculture

Financial

Tourism & Hospitality

Services

Energy

Retail & Distribution

Mining

Manufacturing

Transport

Construction

TOTAL

Source: External Loans and Exchange Control Review Committee Database

The sectoral spread of borrowings improved in 2018, with sectors such as
Finance, Manufacturing, Tourism and Transport recording more than 50%
increase in monetary value and number of facilities from 2017. Overall, Tobacco
Finance facilities dominated the loans with a 63% contribution.

Actual External Loan Drawdowns
In the year 2018, local borrowers received loan proceeds amounting to US$844.9
million. It should be noted, however, that this figure includes drawdowns from
facilities that were approved in previous years.

ANNEXURE III
INFLATION DEVELOPMENTS

The annual headline inflation, which had been largely trending below 5% for the
greater part of 2018, spiked to 21% in October 2018 and further to 42.1% in
December 2018, as inflation pressures builds in the economy. The price hikes in
October were due to excessive speculative behavior, unrelated to economic
fundamentals, which also saw unjustified increases in parallel market rates for
foreign exchange. It is anticipated that these speculative bubbles will collapse in
the medium term, as the economy adjusts and self-corrects to policy stimuli.

Figure 4: Annual Inflation Profile (%)

Source: Zimstat, 2018

The end of the year saw both food and non-food prices spiraling up, across most
categories of the consumer basket. Most discernible price increases were
observed in categories that have a significant import content, reflecting the
sourcing of foreign exchange from alternative markets due to shortages. Monthon-month inflation, which had remained largely below the 1.5% threshold

Jan-17
Feb-17
Mar-17
Apr-17
May-17
Jun-17
Jul-17
Aug-17
Sep-17
Oct-17
Nov-17
Dec-17
Jan-18
Feb-18
Mar-18
Apr-18
May-18
Jun-18
Jul-18
Aug-18
Sep-18
Oct-18
Nov-18
Dec-18
Food Inflation
Non-Food Inflation
All Items

throughout the year, escalated 16.4% in October 2018, before subsiding to 9.0%
in December 2018, on the back of both food and non-food drivers. Government
is instituting a wide range of fiscal and monetary measures, aimed at keeping
inflation in check.

Figure 5: Month-on-Month Inflation %

Source: Zimstat, 2018

The spike in inflation calls for concerted national efforts to fight the scourge, so
as to engineer growth and stability across the markets. The recent fuel price
increase, while temporarily inflationary in the short term, will be neutralized by
supply side gains, as well as by positive payoffs from on-going economic reforms
in the fiscal and monetary sectors. The anticipated fall in international oil prices
will also see inflationary pressures relenting, buttressed by other positive external
developments.


Mar-16
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Jul-16
Aug-16
Sep-16
Oct-16
Nov-16
Dec-16
Jan-17
Feb-17
Mar-17
Apr-17
May-17
Jun-17
Jul-17
Aug-17
Sep-17
Oct-17
Nov-17
Dec-17
Jan-18
Feb-18
Mar-18
Apr-18
May-18
Jun-18
Jul-18
Aug-18
Sep-18
Oct-18
Nov-18
Dec-18

ANNEXURE IV

MONETARY DEVELOPMENTS

Generally, annual growth in money supply has been on a downward trend since
July 2018, largely reflecting slowdown in accommodation to Government, fiscal
consolidation, as well as Central Bank efforts to mop up excess liquidity from the
market. Liquidity sterilization efforts through the Bank’s savings bonds, have
continued to bear fruit, mopping up a total of $1.96 billion worth of liquidity,
since their introduction in September 2017.

Annual broad money2 growth fell from close to 50% in July 2018, to 28.8% by
November 2018, reaching a stock of US$10 093.66 million as of the same month.
The growth in money supply was reflected in a 36.3% increase in narrow money,
of which, transferable deposits grew by 35.62%; while currency in circulation
gained by 48.65%. Partially offsetting the increase in narrow money during the
period under review, were declines in negotiable certificates of deposits (NCDs)
and time deposits, of 21.8% and 1.6%, respectively.


2 Beginning January 2017, broad money is redefined using IMF’s Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual of 2016. The
major change is the exclusion of Government deposits held by banks from broad money.

Figure 6: Money Supply
Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, 2018

The country’s money supply, however, continues to be dominated by transitory
deposits, as evidenced by its composition by end of November 2018, where
transferable deposits were 80.45% of total broad money; time deposits, 14.17%;
currency in circulation, 4.88%; and negotiable certificates of deposits, 0.50%.

This short term money does not auger well for investment, as it falls short of the
medium to long term credit requirements of most industries, which are need to
re-tooling, refurbishment and new capital investments.


-10

-

%
USUS$ BILLIONS
M3
M3 Annual Growth rate

ANNEXURE V

FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS

Banking Sector Architecture
There were 19 operating banking institutions as at 31 December 2018, as shown
in the table below.

Table 5: Architecture of the Banking Sector
Type of Institution
Number
Commercial Banks

Building Societies

Savings Bank

Total Banking Institutions

Other Institutions under the supervision of Reserve Bank
Credit-only-MFIs

Deposit-taking MFIs

Development Financial Institutions

TOTAL

Performance of the Banking Sector

The banking sector remained generally stable as reflected by adequate
capitalisation and improved earnings performance for the period ended 31
December 2018. However, asset quality deteriorated as reflected by increase in
the average non-performing loans to total loans ratio during the period under
review. The table below shows trends in financial soundness indicators.

Table 6: Financial Soundness Indicators
Key Indicators
Benchmark Dec-17
Jun-18
Sept-18 Dec-18
Total Assets

$11.25bn $12.35bn $13.31bn $13.98bn
Total Loans &
Advances

$3.80bn $4.08bn $4.00bn $4.22bn
Net Capital Base

$1.58bn $1.61bn $1.72bn $1.83bn
Total Deposits

$8.48bn $9.53bn $9.57bn $10.32bn
Net Profit

$241.94m $176.09m $283.98m $389.85m
Return on Assets


Return on Equity

15.48% 11.16%
16.80%
20.59%
Capital Adequacy
Ratio

Loans to Deposits

Non-Performing
Loans Ratio

Tier 1 Ratio

Liquidity Ratio

Cost to Income Ratio

75.36% 67.59%
66.85%
70.01%

Capitalisation
The banking sector remained adequately capitalised with average tier 1 and
capital adequacy ratios of 23.84% and 30.27%, respectively. The banking sector
aggregate core capital increased by 15.32%, from $1.37 billion as at 31 December
2017 to $1.58 billion as at 31 December 2018, largely due to organic capital
growth. All banking institutions were compliant with the prescribed minimum
capital requirements as shown in the table below.

Table 7: Banking Sector Capitalisation ($ million)
Institution
Core Capital
as
at

December
Core Capital
as
at

December
Prescribed
Minimum
Capital
CBZ Bank & Society
218.41
168.15

Stanbic Bank
135.52
162.22

Barclays Bank
79.22
107.17

Ecobank
73.95
104.14

FBC Bank
70.37
93.64

ZB Bank & Society
83.54
87.94

BancABC
75.96
86.72

Steward Bank
71.91
86.58

Standard Chartered Bank
71.34
84.84

NMB Bank
61.31
76.72

Agribank
55.54
74.36

Nedbank Zimbabwe
54.52
70.01

Metbank
44.99
65.88

BUILDING
SOCIETIES


CABS Building Society
127.75
146.45

FBC Building Society
47.48
47.07

National Building Society
43.84
46.03

SAVINGS BANK


POSB
53.83
69.33
-
Total
1,369.48
1,577.25
-

The challenging macroeconomic environment underscores the need for banking
institutions to implement capital preservation strategies.

Banking Sector Deposits
Total banking sector deposits amounted to $10.32 billion as at 31 December
2018, up from $8.48 billion as at 31 December 2017. The figure below shows the
trend in the banking sector deposits over the period 31 December 2009 to 31
December 2018.

Figure 7: Trend in Banking Sector Deposits ($million)


The banking sector was predominantly funded by demand deposits which
accounted for 64.94% of total deposits as at 31 December 2018. The composition
of total banking sector deposits as at 31 December 2018 is depicted in the figure
below.


10000
12000
31-Dec-09
31-Dec-10
31-Dec-11
31-Dec-12
31-Dec-13
30-Dec-14
31-Dec-15
31-Dec-16
31-Dec-17
31-Mar-18
30-Jun-18
30-Sep-18
31-Dec-18

Figure 8: Composition of Deposits as at 31 December 2018


As at 31 December 2018, total Nostro FCA deposits amounted to $673.81
million, representing 6.53% of total deposits. The Nostro FCA depositors are
predominantly constituted by corporate deposits amounting to $654.77 million,
representing 97.17% of total Nostro FCA deposits, as at 31 December 2018. The
level of Nostro FCAs and RTGS FCAs deposits, since the separation of the two
(2) categories in October 2018 is shown below.


Demand Deposits
64.94%
Call Deposits
1.25%
Time Deposits
22.89%
Savings
Deposits
5.11%
Foreign Deposits
(Foreign Entity
Deposits)
1.91%
Foreign Deposits
(Foreign Lines)
2.27%
Other Deposits
1.63%

Figure 9: Composition of Deposits By nature of Currency
As at 31 December 2018, the number of corporate RTGS FCA depositors was
214,094 valued at $8.67 billion, while the number of individual RTGS FCA
depositors, amounted to 3.24 million valued at $894.54 million. Of the 3.24
million individual depositors 95.98% held deposit balances of less than $1,000.00
each, with an average balance of $80, accounting for a total $213.42 million.
On the other hand, corporate RTGS FCA depositors (1,884) holding balances in
excess of $500,000 constitute 83.64% ($7.25billion) of total corporate RTGS
deposit of $8.67 billion as at 31 December 2018. The table below shows a
breakdown of total deposits by balance category;


30 Nov 2018
14 Dec 2018
31 Dec 2018
Billions US$
Nostro FCAs
RTGS F CAs

Table 8: Total Nostro FCA and RTGS FCA Balances Summary as at 31
December 2018

RTGS FCA
NOSTRO FCA

Number
Value ($)
Number
Value ($)
<1,000


23,236,315
300,001-500,000

309,775,981


472,627,663
TOTAL


Going forward, it is envisaged that the number of Nostro FCA depositors will
increase, driven by increases in the tobacco and mineral production, as well as
financial inclusion efforts.

Loans and Advances
Total banking sector loans and advances increased by 11.05%, from $3.80 billion
as at 31 December 2017 to $4.22 billion as at 31 December 2018. The figure
below shows the trend of banking sector loans and advances from 31 December
2014 to 31 December 2018.

Figure 10: Loans and Advances


Lending to the productive sector increased over the year, from 73.64% to 76.01%
of total loans as at 31 December 2018. The increase is largely attributable to
lending to the agricultural sector which increased from 14.7% to 16.39% and
other segments including state owned enterprises from 12.1% to 20.1 %. The
chart below shows the breakdown of lending to the productive sector.


Dec-14
Mar-15
Jun-15
Sep-15
Dec-15
Mar-16
Jun-16
Sep-16
Dec-16
Mar-17
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Dec-18

Figure 11: Sectoral Distribution of loans as at 31 December 2018

The loans to deposit ratio decreased from 44.81% to 40.1% over the year ended
31 December 2018, reflecting low lending levels. This position reflects that there
is scope for banking institutions to increase lending to various sectors of the
economy to spur economic revival.

Loan Portfolio Quality
Credit risk in the banking sector portfolio increased during the period under
review as reflected by the ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to total loans of
8.25% % as at 30 December 2018, from 7.08% as at 31 December 2017. The
increase in NPLs is largely a reflection of forward looking credit risk
management tools adopted by banks in line with the IFRS 9 accounting standards,
resulting in improvement of the banks’ risks controls and provisions coverage.
The trend in the level of non-performing loans from 2011 to 31 December 2018
is indicated in the figure below.
CONSUMPTIVE
17.75%
OTHER
6.24%
Agricultural
16.34%
Manufacturing
7.68%
Commercial
15.33%
Mining
3.52%
Distribution
10.52%
Contruction
9.86%
Transport
1.06%
Coomunication
0.38%
Financial
1.78%
Mortgage
11.12%
PRODUCTIVE
76.01%

Figure 12: Trend in Non-Performing Loans 2011 – 31 December 2018


Earnings Performance
All banking institutions, with the exception of one, reported profits for the year
ended 31 December 2018, with a 61.06% increase in aggregate profits from
$241.94 million in 2017 to $389.85 million in 2018.

Banking Sector Liquidity
All banking institutions were compliant with the minimum prudential liquidity
ratio of 30% as at 31 December 2018, with the exception of two (2) institutions.
The average prudential liquidity ratio for the banking sector was 68.00% as at 31
December 2018, against the minimum regulatory requirement of 30%. Trend in
the banking sector average prudential liquidity ratio since March 2015 is shown
in the figure below.


Dec-14 Dec-16 Dec-17 Mar-18 Jun-18 Sep-18 Dec-18
Level of NPL Ratio

Figure 13: Prudential Liquidity Ratio Trend (%)

The high average prudential liquidity ratio is largely attributed to substantial
holdings of securities and investments, and cautious approach to lending by most
banking institutions.

Deposit Insurance Payments
As at 31 December 2018, 15,313 out of 54,909 depositors by number had been
compensated out of the Deposit Protection Fund, administered through the
Deposit Protection Corporation. In monetary terms $3.61 million (56%) had been
paid against an exposure of $6.4 million. The table below provides a synopsis of
deposit insurance payments in respect of the six (6) failed contributory banking
institutions under liquidation.


Table 9: Deposit Insurance Payments as at 31 December 2018
Name of
Institution
Total
Depositor
s
No. of
Depos
itors
paid
Exposure
Deposits
payable at
$500($)
Value of
Depositors
paid ($)
% of
Total
depos
its
Gross
Deposits
Royal Bank

Trust Bank

Genesis


Allied Bank

Interfin Bank

Afrasia

Total


All the above institutions are under final liquidation by the Deposit Protection
Corporation.

Banking Sector Developments
Tetrad Investment Bank
Provisional Judicial Management for Tetrad Investment Bank was uplifted on 30
October 2018, following a successful conclusion of a scheme of arrangement
involving conversion of debt to equity, which resulted in the institution’s capital
being in compliance with the regulatory minimum of $25 million for merchant
banks.

The banking institutional is, however, not yet operational as the bank’s board is
working to address issues before commencement of operations including
shareholding structure, corporate governance arrangements, risk management
systems and availability of working capital.

ANNEXURE VI

DEVELOPMENTS ON THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

The year 2018, saw the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) experiencing generally
bullish sentiment, with the industrial and mining indices rising from 333.02 points
and 142.40 points, respectively, at the end of December 2017, to 699.89 points
and 242.81 points, in October 2018. The growth was partly attributed to strong
performance on some blue chip counters, coupled with hedging tendencies
against perceived losses of value on parallel market rates and inflation. Although
activity on the stock market declined in December 2018, in line with trends during
the festive season, year-on-year, however, both the industrial and mining indices
grew significantly by 46.28% and 59.91%, respectively.

The Top 10 Index, which tracks share price developments of wealth preserving
counters, gained 45.02% to reach 145.02 points at the end of 2018. By breaking
the 100 points benchmark, it implies that blue-chip stock prices at 31 December
2018 have surpassed prices at the beginning of the year, when the index was
introduced.

Figure below shows developments in the industrial and mining indices for the
period 31 December 2017 to 31 December 2018.

Figure 14: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Indices

Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 2019

As a consequence of improved investor appetite in blue-chip counters, the
cumulative value of shares traded increased by 72.77% to $1.20 billion, up from
$0.69 billion realized in 2017. Volume of shares traded, however, declined by
27.30% to 2.45 billion shares, from 3.37 billion shares registered the previous
year. The cumulative net capital inflows amounted to $51.61 million in 2018,
compared to cumulative net outflows of $99.99 million in 2017.

31-Dec-17
31-Jan-18
28-Feb-18
31-Mar-18
30-Apr-18
31-May-18
30-Jun-18
31-Jul-18
31-Aug-18
30-Sep-18
31-Oct-18
30-Nov-18
31-Dec-18
Mining Index
Industrial Index
Industrial Index
Mining Index

Figure 15: ZSE Market Turnover

Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 2019
In line with significant increases in share prices across many counters, market
capitalization trended upwards, reaching peak levels of close to $23 billion in
October 2018, before moderating to around $19 billion by the close of the year.

Figure 16: Market Capitalization

Source: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, 2019

Value ($Millions)
Volume (Millions)
Volume
Value

US$ Millions

The launch and operationalization of an online and mobile platform, Capital
Trade (C-Trade) in the second half of 2018, is expected to improve trading
activity on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). This development is set to
further deepen financial inclusion in the capital markets, riding on the
countrywide mobile network platforms, which have attracted subscribers from
the width and breadth of the economy.

ANNEXURE VII
STATUS AND CONDITION OF MICROFINANCE SECTOR
The microfinance sector continued to play a significant catalytic role in the
financial inclusion agenda and the attainment of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). As at 31 December 2018, a total of 205 microfinance institutions
were operational. The microfinance sector continued on a growth trajectory
during the period under review. Positive growth was recorded in outreach, loan
portfolio size, equity funding, and deposit mobilisation.

Performance of Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institutions
The six (6) operating Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institutions (DTMFIs)
continue to play a significant role in promoting access to formal financial services
by marginalised segments. Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank and
EmpowerBank commenced operations in 2018 with mandates to primarily focus
on financial inclusion of women and youth respectively. The trend in the key
performance indicators for the DTMFIs is indicated in the table below:

Table 10: Trend in the Key Performance Indicators for the DTMFIS
Key Indicators
Dec-17
Jun-18
Sept-18
Dec-18
Total Assets
$88.36m $100.28m
$128.23m
$138.16m
Total Loans & Advances
$62.02m
$68.80m
$79.26m
$84.40m
Net Capital Base
$39.20m
$40.09m
$62.24m
$63.78m
Total Deposits
$6.41m
$15.35m
$21.00m
$23.85m
Net Profit
$2.25m $965,250.19 -$939,080.58
-
$29,488.44
Operating self-sufficiency
ratio
126.30% 116.83%
76.22%
89.27%
Average Return on Assets

Average Return on Equity

Portfolio risk Ratio (> 30
days)


Status of Capitalisation
The capital levels for the Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institutions sub-sector
grew from $39.20 million in 2017 to $63.78 million as at 31 December 2018.
However, one institution’s capital level was in breach of the minimum prescribed
capital requirement of $5 million and shareholder efforts are underway to
regularise the capital position of the institution.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe urges players in the deposit-taking microfinance
sub-sector to continue to raise capitalisation levels in order to create capacity to
underwrite significant business across economic sectors.

Total Loans and Deposits
Total loans and deposits increased from $62.02 million and $6.41 million as at
31 December 2017 to $84.40 million and $23.85 million as at 31 December 2018,
respectively. The growth in the loans has largely been financed by deposits, lines
of credit and shareholder loans.

Earnings Performance
Profitability in the sector remained subdued during the year. The earnings
performance was largely weighed down by start-up costs in the newly established
deposit-taking microfinance institutions. New entities typically need 2 to 3 years
to build their portfolios in order to attain sustainable critical mass and break-even.

Outreach
Total number of DTMFIs branches increased by 69% from 16 in 2017 to 27 as at
31 December 2018. The subsector recorded a 302% growth in the number of
account holders from 6,441 in 2017 to 25,906 as at 31 December 2018.

Performance of Credit-Only Microfinance Institutions
The microfinance sector’s total assets registered a 58.30% growth in over the year
from $211.83 million as at 30 September 2017 to $335.33 million as at 30
September 2018, driven by the growth in total loans. The trend of the performance
indicators in the credit-only microfinance sub-sector is indicated in the table
below.

Table 11: Key Performance Indicators, September 2017 to September 2018
Indicator
Sept -17
Sept-18
Number of Licensed Institutions

Total Loans (US$m)
175.41
272.13
Total Assets (US$m)
211.83
335.33
Total Equity (US$m)
92.65
126.04
Net Profit (US$m)
10.42
11.27
Average Operational Self-Sufficiency (OSS)
151.08%
114.80%
Portfolio at Risk (PaR>30 days)* (%)
6.52%
15.65%
Number of Active Loan Clients
235,885
278,583
Number of Outstanding Loans
244,155
312,680
Number of Branches

* Portfolio at Risk [30] days-The value of all loans outstanding that have one or more
installments of principal past due more than [30] days. This includes the entire unpaid
principal balance, including both the past due and future installments, but not accrued
interest. It also includes loans that have been restructured or rescheduled.

Microfinance Outreach
The sector continued to make inroads in the financial inclusion space with the
sector registering a 18.10% increase in the number of active clients over the year
from 235,885 as at 30 September 2017, to 278,583 as at 30 September 2018. The
number of women borrowers has been on an upward trend over the review period
with women borrowers accounting for 53.20% of the total active clients in the
microfinance industry, up from 40.28% recorded in September 2017.

Access to the Reserve Bank Empowerment facilities such as the Women
Empowerment Facility and the Business Linkage Facility has contributed
significantly to the increase in the number of women borrowers. Microfinance
institutions can accelerate their outreach into the remote rural areas with

innovative products by embracing mobile banking services and collaborating
with mobile network operators through the framework of agency.

Capital & Funding
The microfinance sector registered a 36.04% increase in aggregate equity over
the review period from $92.65 million as at 30 September 2017, to $126.04
million as at 30 September 2018. However, the sector’s equity was under threat
from increased portfolio at risk and high operational costs. Lack of long-term
sustainable funding continues to militate against increased outreach and impact
of credit-only microfinance institutions on the low income and marginalised.
Microfinance shareholders are therefore urged to inject additional capital in order
to come up with stronger, more sustainable and well-funded institutions.

Lending and Portfolio Quality
The sector registered a 55.14% increase in total portfolio over the year from
$175.41million as at 30 September 2017, to $272.13 million as at 30 September
2018 on the back of increased demand for micro-credit by both micro and small
enterprises as well as individuals.

The sector registered a deterioration in portfolio quality over the year with
portfolio-at-risk (˃30 days) (PaR) ratio of 15.65% as at 30 September 2018, up
from 6.52% as at 30 September 2017, against the international benchmark of 5%.
The deterioration in the asset quality was partly driven by increased overindebtedness and multi-borrowing among microfinance borrowers against
declining disposable income.

Distribution of Loans

Loans to the productive sector of $194.64 million as at 30 September 2018,
accounted for 71.52% of the total credit-only microfinance sub-sector loans of
$272.13 million. The figure below shows the distribution of loans for 2017 and
2018.

Figure 17: Loan Distribution 2017 – 2018


The Reserve Bank urges the sector to leverage on technology and partner with
other financial service providers in order to expand their credit portfolios and
offer other products such as micro-insurance and micro-pensions.


Productive ($m)
Consumptive ($m)
Education ($m)
Health ($m)

Profitability

The credit-only microfinance sub-sector registered a 8.16% increase in net profit
over the year from $10.42 million for period ended 30 September 2017, to $11.27
million for the period ended 30 September 2018. The average operational selfsufficiency ratio (OSS)3 for the sector deteriorated to 114.80% as at 30
September 2018, down from 151.08% as at 30 September 2017. The OSS ratio
of 114.80% was above the break-even point of 100%, indicating that the sector is
still operationally sustainable.

Social Performance Management

In line with international best practice and standards, the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe will be implementing Social Performance Management to facilitate
microfinance institutions aligning their social objectives and financial objectives
in providing access to finance to the poor and marginalised. During the course of
2019, the Reserve Bank will develop a Social Performance Management
Framework to provide guidance on the evaluation of the impact of microfinance
service on the target marginalised groups.


3 OSS is the ratio of an MFI’s operating revenues to its operating expenses including financial costs and
impairment losses on loans.

ANNEXURE VIII
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
The Reserve Bank continues to collaborate with other stakeholders in
implementing various initiatives to enhance access to formal financial services
by the majority of the people. Following the launch of the National Financial
Inclusion Strategy in March 2016, there has been notable progress regarding
access to formal financial services by the targeted groups such as women,
MSMEs and the youth as shown by the indicators below.

Figure 18: Financial Inclusion Indicators - Dec 2016-18
Indicator
Dec 2016 Dec 2017
June 2018 Sept

Dec 2018
Value
of
loans
to
MSMEs
$131.69m $146.22 m $168.25m
$131.83m
$169.96m
% of loans to MSMEs
over total loans

Number
of
MSMEs
with bank accounts

Number
of
Women
with Bank Accounts

Value
of
Loans
to
Women
$277.30m $310.78m $360.68m
$384.55m
$432.36m
Number of Loans to
Youth

Value of Loans to Youth
$58.41m $138.93 m $126.64m
$146.79m
$104.43m
Total number of Bank
Accounts
1.49m
3.07m
5.58m
5.81m
6.73m
Number of Low Cost
Accounts
1.20m
3.02m
3.56m
3.31m
4.67m

Financial Inclusion Empowerment Facilities
Access to funding is a critical component of financial inclusivity. The Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe and the banking institutions continues to avail funding
targeted at various priority groups under the National Financial Inclusion

Strategy. As at the end of 2018, Revolving Empowerment Facilities amounting
to $501.1 million had been put in place. However, uptake has remained low at
55% largely due to low financial literacy, inadequate entrepreneurial skills as well
as the prevailing foreign currency shortages.

The injection of additional capital in Export Credit Guarantee Corporation
(ECGC) to enable it to provide credit guarantee support to Micro Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as the operationalisation of the Collateral
Registry are expected to facilitate increased access to finance for productive
purposes by MSMEs lacking acceptable collateral. It is encouraging to note that
as at 31 December 2018, a total of ten (10) financial institutions had accessed
credit guarantees through ECGC.

Reserve Bank also acknowledges efforts by banking and microfinance
institutions in the provision of financial services to the target segments under the
National Financial Inclusion Strategy using their own resources.

Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is one of the key pillars of the National Financial Inclusion
Strategy. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe acknowledges efforts by financial
institutions as well as other stakeholders in raising awareness of financial services
among the targeted segments. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe urges financial
institutions to continue to invest in financial literacy programs focusing on
various concepts and skills including financial planning, budgeting, saving and
debt management skills, as well as promoting the understanding of consumer
rights and responsibilities.

Sustainable Financing
To date, eight (8) financial institutions have confirmed their readiness to
participate in the Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative for
Financial Institutions, an initiative of the European Organisation for Sustainable
Development under the Global Sustainable Finance Network. The Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe urges banking institutions to incorporate sustainability principles in
their business operations to promote positive development impact on society as
well as protection of the environment as they conduct their banking business.

Credit Infrastructure
The credit infrastructure in Zimbabwe continued to improve as reflected by the
favourable assessment in the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Report
covering the 2018 period, against the background of increased coverage for the
credit registry and credit bureaus as well as depth of credit information

Credit Registry
As at 31 December 2018, the Credit Registry held 845,672 records of which
563,420 were active loan accounts. Individual records represented 99% of the
active loan records. Total subscribers closed the year at 165, up from 104 in 2017.
Credit Registry usage levels by subscribing institutions have increased steadily
to a cumulative 440,407 reports as at 31 December 2018 as shown in the figure
below.

Figure 19: Cumulative Credit Registry Inquiries: May 2017 - Dec 2018

A further outliner of the month by month enquiries is shown in the table below:

Figure 20: Monthly Inquiries by Banks and MFIs


Banks Inquiries
MFI Inquiries

In an endeavor to improve services offered by the system, the Credit Registry is
in the process of implementing value-added products, which are expected to
enhance credit risk management for lending institutions, facilitate in-depth
analysis of the credit data held in the credit registry database for micro and macro
prudential supervision as well as promote efficiency of credit registry processes.
Further, the Credit Registry will intensify the process of collecting and reporting
information from microfinance institutions during 2019 in order to deepen the
database and provide more comprehensive information for credit decisionmaking by lenders.

Going forward, financial institutions are expected to leverage on the credit
registry data to make data driven insights and decisions such as risk based pricing
and development of new products and services. The credit data will also promote
the formulation of data driven policies relating to financial inclusion, micro and
macroprudential analysis and financial stability. The enhanced credit reporting
environment will aid in promoting responsible lending practices, reduce over
indebtedness and lower credit costs, as credit service providers are now able to
better understand their customers using verifiable credit data.

Collateral Registry
The Collateral Registry is expected to facilitate borrowers such as SMEs and
individuals to pledge movable assets as collateral for borrowings, while providing
lenders with access to information on any prior pledges on movable assets offered
as collateral. The software for the collateral registry system is expected to be
acquired and deployed during the course of 2019.

ANNEXURE IX
NATIONAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS
The payment services sector remained generally stable, safe, resilient and sound,
despite some isolated challenges in the environment during the year 2018. This
was largely attributable to the on-going oversight efforts by the Central Bank, as
well as development and implementation of sound risk management measures by
market players.

In 2018, payment systems registered a growth of 61.7% in transaction values to
US$151.75 billion, and 98% in volume terms to 1.96 billion transactions.

Figure 21: Annual Electronic Transactional Activities from 2009- 2018


Analysis of Payment Systems Activities
The national payment stream is characterised by large value (Real Time Gross
Settlement) and small value (mobile financial services, cheque, automated teller
machines, point of sale and internet). The diagram below shows the architecture
of the payment, clearing and settlement with proportional representation of
transactional activities in the economy during the year 2018.


1,960
-


volumes in Millions
Values in Billions
Values
Volumes

Figure 22: Structure of Aggregate Payment Stream Values -2018


During the period under review the payment streams recorded positive growth
with the exception of cheques and ATM transactions. An aggregate of 6.4 million
transactions valued at US$85 billion were settled through the RTGS system
during 2018 representing an increase of 8% and 38%, respectively, from the
previous year.

Mobile financial services transactional activities went up by 145% to US$44
billion from US$18 billion whilst volumes increased by 121% to 1.7 billion from
755 million in 2017. Internet transactions increased by 8.63% to US$13 billion
in 2018.


RTGS, 56.23%
CHEQUE, 0.03%
POS, 5.92%
ATMS, 0.11%
MOBILE , 29.08%
INTERNET, 8.63%

SWIFT Security Customer Program

The SWIFT Security Customer Program launched in 2016 has gained momentum
and continues to be updated to enhance the existing security controls. The
security controls are kept under constant monitoring to take into account
emerging and evolving cyber threats.

To ensure the effectiveness of these controls, SWIFT has developed an attestation
and compliance process which requires users to self-attest compliance against the
mandatory security controls. As at the end of 2018, most banks had put in place
all mandatory controls that were required at the time of their respective
attestation.

SWIFT has also announced additional updates to the Customer Security Controls
Framework through the KYC registry Self Attestation commencing in July 2019.
Therefore, as mandated by SWIFT and supported by the Central Bank, all
institutions are required to fully comply by December 2019 and expeditiously
implement the requisite controls as well as observe these measures on an ongoing
basis to counter any cyber security threats.

Payment System Capacity

The payments, clearing and settlement sector is going through a period of
unusually rapid evolution and growth. Market players have enhanced the payment
systems infrastructure capacity to handle currently high volumes. The safety and
stability of the payment systems infrastructure and related technology hinges on
the effective management of system capacity on an on-going basis. Inadequately
addressed capacity issues could result in operational and strategic risks,
potentially affecting the ecosystem.

Cognisant of that and to ensure financial stability in the ecosystem, market
players should continuously plan and invest in enhancing their infrastructure
capacity in tandem with the increasing electronic transactions.

Payment Systems Oversight Activities

Overall oversight activities focused on monitoring and evaluation of the large
value and retail payment systems on a risk sensitive basis. Pursuant to that,
measures undertaken by system operators were largely adequate and ensured the
efficient and safe functioning of the payment system.

Notwithstanding that, the following key areas were noted and require further
attention and monitoring:
Corporate governance – mobile payment providers are still to operate as legal
entities in line with Retail Payment Systems Guideline instead of being strategic
business units. This compromises effective supervision and independence of the
mobile financial services.

Payment system providers are, therefore, urged to comply with the
Guidelines for Retail Payment Systems and Instruments of 2017 which
requires institutions to regularise their governance structures by end of year
2019.

International Standards maintenance – there is limited appreciation of key
recognised standards such as the principles of financial market infrastructures
(PFMIs) and financial action task force (FATF). This is largely due to inadequate
training and awareness.

Banks and payment services providers should continuously train all staff to
ensure a better understanding, effective and consistent application of
standards across the board.

Consumer protection - concerns related to delayed query resolutions, consumer
education and awareness, and lack of full transparency on some key information
continue to be registered thus impacting negatively on the confidence levels.

Payment services providers should;
i.
Enforce timely resolution of consumer queries as per approved policies;
ii.
Continue educating their customers on the products and cyber-crime related
issues;
iii.
Enhance their systems to inform the consumer in advance before committing
to the services, especially charges, thereby promoting transparency as opposed
to the current set up.