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| Headquarters | New Reserve Bank Tower, Harare, Zimbabwe |
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| Ownership | 100% state ownership [1] |
| governor | John Mushayavanhu |
| Central bank of | Zimbabwe |
| Currency | Zimbabwe Gold ZWG (ISO 4217) |
| Reserves | $100 million [2] |
| Bank rate | 57.5% |
| Website | www |
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is the central bank of Zimbabwe and is headquartered in Harare.
The bank traces its history to the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia, founded on 22 May 1964, but which succeeded the Bank of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1956-1963) which had been liquidated at the collapse of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1963. [3] Prior to 1956, there was a Central African Currency Board from 1953, but which had been established as the Southern Rhodesia Currency Board in 1938 to provide Rhodesian currency, fully backed and bound to the British pound sterling at par face value. The local currency which Central African Currency Board was mandated to supply to Southern Rhodesia (colonial Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (colonial Zambia) and Nyasaland (colonial Malawi) had been established through the Southern Rhodesia Coinage and Currency Act of 1932. The Reserve Bank of Rhodesia (which became the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at independence in 1980) has continued to function, and has grown in operations and staff, through a variety of changes in sovereignty and governmental structure in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe.
For over 4 decades the RBZ operated from the Reserve Bank Building along Samora Machel Avenue (formerly Jameson Avenue) adjacent to First Street. In the late 1980s a competition was conducted to design the new building and the winning design was by Clinton & Evans and Architects, the engineer was Marjem Chatterton; they went on to design the Reserve Bank of Malawi Building as well. Construction of the new RBZ building began in 1993 and was fully completed in 1997, but was officially opened by President Robert Mugabe on May 31, 1996. The building is the tallest in Zimbabwe[ citation needed ] standing at a height of 394 feet (120 m) with 28 floors above ground.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act provides for a board of directors and a governor. The governor, assisted by three deputy governors, is responsible for the day-to-day administration and operations of the bank. The current governor is John Mushayavanhu. [4]
The governor and his three deputies are appointed by the president for five-year terms that may be renewed. The governor also serves as chairman of the board. The board's membership includes the three deputies and a maximum of seven other non-executive directors, intended to represent key sectors of the economy.
The Governor is appointed by the President of Zimbabwe for two renewable five-year-terms.
The Reserve Bank's most important role is to create and enact monetary policies. According to the bank's website, as the only producer of Zimbabwe's bank notes and coins, it regulates the amount of money in circulation. However, since a range of foreign currencies is currently in use for domestic transactions, the bank's ability to control money supply is limited. The Reserve Bank also looks after the country's gold, as well as purchase and refine precious minerals like diamonds, gold and silver through its subsidiary Fidelity Printers and Refinery. The bank serves as an advisor to the government, providing the government with daily banking services. It is also active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. [10]
Due to the unstable economic conditions and failure to control inflation (2008), economists[ who? ] have suggested that the Reserve Bank be abolished. Some economists[ who? ] have suggested that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe be reformed. Legislation in 2008 was debated in the lower house of the Zimbabwean parliament with a view to limiting the so-called quasi-fiscal activities of the Reserve Bank. [11]
The Kwacha is the currency of Zambia. It is subdivided into 100 Ngwee.
The kwacha is the currency of Malawi as of 1971, replacing the Malawian pound. It is divided into 100 tambala. The kwacha replaced other types of currency, namely the British pound sterling, the South African rand, and the Rhodesian dollar, that had previously circulated through the Malawian economy. The exchange rate of the kwacha undergoes fixed periodical adjustments, but since 1994 the exchange rate has floated. In 2005, administrative measures were put in place by Bingu wa Mutharika to peg the exchange rate with other currencies. Banknotes are issued by the Reserve Bank of Malawi. In May 2012, the Reserve Bank of Malawi devalued the kwacha by 34% and unpegged it from the United States dollar. The currency was further devalued by 25% by the central bank in May 2022 followed by another 44% devaluation in November 2023 raising inflation rate in Malawi.
Seigniorage, also spelled seignorage or seigneurage, is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be applied in two ways:
The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. Owned by the Ministry of Finance, Government of the Republic of India, it is responsible for the control, issue and maintaining supply of the Indian rupee. It also manages the country's main payment systems and works to promote its economic development.
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked, self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South Zambesia until annexation by Britain, at the behest of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company. The bounding territories were Bechuanaland (Botswana), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Portuguese Mozambique (Mozambique) and the Transvaal Republic.
The prime minister of Rhodesia was the head of government of Rhodesia. Rhodesia, which had become a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom in 1923, unilaterally declared independence on 11 November 1965, and was thereafter an unrecognized state until 1979. In December 1979, the country came under temporary British control, and in April 1980 the country gained recognized independence as Zimbabwe.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) is the central bank of Turkey. Its responsibilities include conducting monetary and exchange rate policy, managing international reserves of Turkey, as well as printing and issuing banknotes, and establishing, maintaining and regulating payment systems in the country.
The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) is the national monetary authority and central bank responsible for providing advice to the Government of Barbados on banking and other financial and monetary matters. The Central Bank of Barbados, was established by Act of parliament on 2 May 1972. Prior to the establishment of CBB, Barbados' monetary policies were governed through its membership in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA). The Central Bank operates as the banknote issuing authority for Barbadian currency.
Commonwealth banknote-issuing institutions also British Empire Paper Currency Issuers comprises a list of public, private, state-owned banks and other government bodies and Currency Boards who issued legal tender: banknotes.
The pound was the currency of Malawi until 1971. From 1932, Malawi used the Southern Rhodesian pound. In 1955, a new currency was introduced, the Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound. This was replaced by the Malawian pound in 1964, following Malawi's independence. The pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The pound was replaced by the decimal kwacha in 1971, at a rate of 2 kwacha = 1 pound.
The Bank of Guyana (BoG) is the central bank of Guyana. It was established in 1965 in advance of the country's independence in 1966. Dr. Gobind Ganga has been the governor of BoG since December 2014.
Gideon Gono is a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, serving from 2003 to 2013, and is the former CEO of the CBZ Bank Limited.
The pound was the currency of Southern Rhodesia. It also circulated in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The Bank of Zambia (BoZ), is the central bank of Zambia.
The banknotes of Zimbabwe were physical forms of Zimbabwe's first four incarnations of the dollar, from 1980 to 2009. The banknotes of the first dollar replaced those of the Rhodesian dollar at par in 1981, one year after the proclamation of independence. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issued most of the banknotes and other types of currency notes in its history, including the bearer cheques and special agro-cheques that circulated between 15 September 2003 and 31 December 2008: the Standard Chartered Bank also issued their own emergency cheques from 2003 to 2004.
The Zimbabwean dollar was the name of four official currencies of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 12 April 2009. During this time, it was subject to periods of extreme inflation, followed by a period of hyperinflation.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe began to release Zimbabwean bond coins on 18 December 2014. The coins were supported by a US$50 million facility extended to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe by Afreximbank. To date coins worth US$15 million have been struck out of the total $50 million available. The coins were first issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents and are pegged to the corresponding values in U.S. dollars. A 50 cents bond coin was released in March 2015.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) is a Zimbabwean security printing and gold refinery company wholly owned by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The company was established in 1966. FPR operates from a printing and gold refinery plant located in Msasa Industrial area in Harare and a coin minting facility in Bulawayo.
John Panonetsa Mangudya is a former governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. He was appointed in March 2014 by the then Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, and began his tenure as governor on 1 May that year. His second 5 year term ended on 28 March 2024. He succeeded Gideon Gono as the governor of Zimbabwe's central bank and became the nation's 6th substantial exchequer.
The Zimbabwean dollar, also known as the Zimdollar or Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar, was the currency of Zimbabwe from February 2019 to April 2024. It was the only legally permitted currency for trade in Zimbabwe from June 2019 to March 2020, after which foreign currencies were legalised again.
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