VBS MUTUAL BANK STREAMLINED

CURATOR of VBS Mutual Bank Anoosh Rooplal has been reducing non-critical costs to the bank to help align cash inflows with the cash outflows, but said the expenses of the bank have been outweighed by the actual income that the bank earns. The curator said branches with low traffic – including Thavhani, Johannesburg, Durban and Sibasa – have been closed. The two remaining branches, Thohoyandou and Makhado, will continue to service the loan account holders, whose contracts remain binding with VBS.

The VBS head office has also been streamlined and staff have been moved into one office block to make more space available for potential new tenants. Unused and redundant assets will be sold and all proceeds will be to the benefit of the creditors of the bank and the remaining retail depositors, who currently have more than R100 000 deposited in the mutual bank. According to the Labour Relations Act, a conciliation period of at least 60 days, with four conciliation meetings with the CCMA, the Sasbo union and appointed representatives of the non-unionised members, was followed. | BR online reporter