HARARE - ZB Financial Holdings Limited (ZBFH) plans to streamline operations as part of strategies to contain costs and consolidate its capital base.

The group — currently expediting the merger of its banking unit with the building society — said the rationale behind the move was mainly hinged on the need to exploit and benefit from embedded synergies.

“This can only be fully enjoyed through the removal of unnecessary duplication of infrastructure and resources such as, staff, information technology (IT) platforms, occupancy and other shared services,” said Shadowsight Chiganze, ZBFH’s head of business development.

Chiganze added that significant progress had been made to date on the initiative to merge ZB Bank and ZB Building Society.

The merger is part of a bid to meet the new minimum capital requirements imposed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

“This transaction should be in compliance with all regulatory, statutory and corporate governance requirements. Progress in securing all the relevant consents is being made,” added Chiganze.

Financial institutions are required by the central bank to have a minimum capital of $100 million by June 2014 —to be implemented in a phased manner.

In the first phase, the banks were supposed to have a minimum capital of $25 million by December 31, 2012, then increase to $50 million by June 30, 2013 and $75 million by December this year.

The National Social Security Authority (Nssa) controls 37,9 percent of ZBFH. - Business Writer