The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe {RBZ} has excluded marketable products such as tobacco, cotton, sugar and maize from bank lending.
Last Saturday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a cocktail of measures, in which he suspended all financial institutions from lending.
On Monday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ordered banks to take heed of Mnangagwa’s announcement and threatened to take action against non-compliant banks.
However, posting on its Twitter handle, RBZ said it has advised all banks to exclude the suspension of marketable commodities from lending.
“Suspension of lending facilities does not apply to marketable commodities such as tobacco, cotton, sugar, maize, etc. All banks have been advised accordingly.
“All banks have been advised as was previously advised by RBZ on Monday 9 May 2022,” reads the statement.
Meanwhile, Zanu Pf, Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs, Tendai Chirau also confirmed about the development on his Twitter handle.
“Finance for marketable commodities that include tobacco, cotton, sugar, maize, etc are exempted. This therefore means lending for those sectors by the banks continues,” he said.