The stage is set for the highly-anticipated Zimbabwe Independent Banks & Banking Survey 2025 Awards, scheduled for next Thursday — an event that continues to define the pulse of Zimbabwe’s financial services sector.
This year’s edition, themed “Capital, Confidence, and Credit Market Dynamics,” will gather leading bankers, policymakers, and business executives for a morning of deep reflection on the state of the economy and the forces reshaping finance.
The ceremony is designed not only to honour outstanding institutions but provoke conversations about the country’s financial direction.
Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) chief executive officer Kenias Mafukidze said the Banks & Banking Survey had become a trusted barometer of the sector’s performance, driving transparency and best practices.
“By acknowledging excellence in digital innovation, financial inclusion, and ESG adherence, we establish standards for the industry’s growth and development in Zimbabwe,” Mafukidze said.
“This initiative encourages constructive competition and advancement in the banking sector. The event also discusses emerging risks and opportunities in the unfolding future of finance which no doubt will engage with block chain technologies and AI. As AMH, we are excited to be working with our partners to cause this conversation.”
This year’s event is hosted in partnership with the People’s Own Savings Bank as the main sponsor and National Building Society, both recognising the need for industry leaders to converge for celebration and analysis in a fast-changing financial landscape increasingly influenced by digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, John Mushayavanhu will deliver the keynote address, expected to provide a comprehensive review of the nation’s capital, confidence, credit, and market dynamics.
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The breakfast meeting will take place at Sabre Business World in Highlands, Harare.
The Independent, under AMH — which also publishes NewsDay and The Standard, and operates digital station HSTV — will unveil the results of the extensive 2025 Banks & Banking Survey adjudicated by ERCCO Consulting Inc.
The survey assesses performance using rigorous Key Performance Indicators that reflect modern banking priorities.
The six award categories include Digital Banking Transformational Leader, Overall Bank for Financial Inclusion, Best Overall ESG Bank, Top Performing Bank of the Year (local and international), and Outstanding Leadership Award. In each category, both a winner and a runner-up will be announced — a recognition of the depth of innovation and competition defining Zimbabwe’s banking sector.
A highlight of the event will be a high-powered panel debate on one of Zimbabwe’s most contentious economic questions: “Monocurrency vs. Dollarisation.”
The discussion will feature prominent panellists, among them economist Nigel Chanakira, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries CEO Sekai Kuvarika, business leader Ken Sharpe among others.
The debate promises critical insights into the country’s monetary direction and future stability.
Launched in 2009, the Banks & Banking Awards have evolved into a cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s financial calendar — a mirror reflecting the sector’s resilience through periods of turbulence and reform.
The 2025 edition comes at a time of mounting pressure on banks, as the economy contends with liquidity shortages, foreign currency constraints, limited investment inflows compared to regional peers, and high interest rates that continue to restrict lending.
In the background, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has submitted a proposal to Treasury ahead of the 2026 national budget, warning current fiscal and monetary frameworks are undermining confidence and choking liquidity.
In the submission, BAZ said high taxes, sovereign arrears and regulatory shifts had created a “systemic liquidity squeeze” threatening the fragile post-dollarisation recovery.
At the centre of concern is the 2% Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) on all digital and cash transactions, a major government revenue source since 2018.
Bankers urged Treasury to “significantly reduce or completely remove” the levy, arguing that it had become “a structural drag on formal banking and economic recovery.”
“(On) Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) at 2%. (The) proposed policy adjustment (we are looking for is the) significant reduction or removal of taxes on digital and cash transactions (ZIG and USD),” the submission said.
The association also urged Treasury to settle outstanding domestic arrears and Treasury Bills (TBs) held by banks, many of which have remained unpaid beyond maturity, tying up liquidity and heightening sovereign default risk.
“Prioritise the timely restructuring and settlement of domestic Treasury Bills and other domestic arrears held by financial institutions,” the paper said.
Executives warned mounting non-performing government paper had distorted balance sheets and constrained private-sector lending. The bankers also called for a 30- to 90-day grace period for implementing new fiscal measures to allow system reconfiguration and prevent shocks to depositors and digital platforms.
