Zambia's Central Bank to publicize commercial bank charges

Zambia's central Bank said on Friday that it will start publicizing various charges of commercial banks in order to help the public make informed decisions on bank choices. The Bank of Zambia (BoZ), in a statement obtained by Xinhua, said it commence publications of various charges levied by commercial banks for various services with effect from May 14, 2014 in local newspapers so that customers are given choices on which banks to deal with. According to the statement, the move was in line with the country's Banking and Financial Services Act. Zambia has seen a rise in commercial banks following the liberalization of the economy in the early 1990s, with the country currently having 19 banks. But there have been complaints of high bank charges levied by various banks despite an increase in the number of commercial banks. Meanwhile the Central Bank has maintained a policy rate who pegs interest rates banks are supposed to charge at 12 percent for the month of May in line with the current inflationary trend. The policy rate was initially pegged at 9.75 percent in January and March this year but was raised to 10.25 percent in March due to inflationary pressures.