Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB), which is Tajikistan’s second largest commercial bank, has announced that it begins to pay out savings returning money to its customers.
According to the TSB press center, the bank begins re-drawing up deposit agreements starting from January 3, 2017.
“The bank will begin to pay out savings starting from January 3, 2017 in accordance with the approved schedule. Customers will be able to receive a certain amount of their savings in parts every month,” says the TSB press center.
Currently, each customer is reportedly able to receive an amount equivalent to up to 200.00 U.S. dollars per month.
TSB announced last month that it resumes serving credit cards and each customer is now able to receive 100.00 somoni per day.
The customers reportedly also have an opportunity to carry out non-cash payment transactions for up to 200.00 somoni through the bank’s POS-terminals.
To speed up the process of returning money to customers, the bank will conduct auctions for selling its property. Moreover, TSB is expected to put a certain number of its shares up for auction.
Recall, TSB’s cash dispensers ran dry in March last year and customers were signing up to waiting lists in their thousands to withdraw whatever money they could.
On March 14, 2016, TSB issued a statement that attributed interruptions in its services to a switchover in its money-processing system.
The National Bank of Tajikistan sidelined chairman and part-owner of the bank, Tojiddin Pirzoda, and six of his deputies from the bank in mid-May and installed a temporary crisis administration.
Tojiddin Pirzoda was reinstated on December 13. He was reportedly given a month to draw a plan on improving the financial situation in TSB.
According to some sources, 2 billion somoni has been allocated for recovery of Tojik Sodirot Bonk and the government now owns an 80 percent stake in the bank.
On December 21, Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament seconded the government’s decision to issue debt securities for capitalization of four distressed commercial banks.
Presenting the government’s decision to lawmakers, Finance Minister Abdusalom Qurboniyon, in particular, noted that “the government will provide 3.85 billion somoni in securities for realization to four commercial banks of the country – Agroinvestbonk, Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB), Tajprombank (Tajik Joint-Stock Commercial Industrial Bank for Reconstruction and Development), and Fononbank,” the minister said.
According to him, TSB will receive debt securities for a total amount of 2.25 billion somoni, Agroinvestbonk – 1.7 billion somoni, Tajprombank – 450 million somoni, and Fononbank – 80 million somoni.
The debt securities are given to the banks on the security of their movables and real estate, Qurboniyon said, adding that supervisory boards will be appointed for the mentioned commercial banks.
Tojik Sodirot Bonk was established in December 1990 as the Tajik branch of the Vnesh Econom Bank of the former Soviet Union, and it initially specialized in trade and import-export banking. Later this branch was reorganized into a Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “Tajikvnesheconombank”. In June 1999 the bank was renamed and registered as Tojik Sodirot Bonk or TSB.
Headquartered in Dushanbe, TSB has 11 branches in the main cities of Tajikistan and covering all regions of the country.
