Premier of KwaZulu-Natal has welcomed the judgement of the High Court granting Ithala to continue operating.

“On behalf of the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal I wish to welcome the judgement by the High Court in Pietermaritzburg to allow Ithala Bank to continue operating. This decision will bring great relief to the thousands of Ithala clients, employees and suppliers, who could not be paid by the bank following the instruction of the current Administrator to stop all incoming and outgoing payments.  

The matter was heard before Honourable Ncube on 17 March 2025 and the judgement delivered on 09 May 2025.
 
While noting that the matter is subject to appeal by the administrator the judgement moves Ithala away from the ICU into possible recovery:
“We note that while Mr Kruger in his capacity as Repayment Administrator is granted leave to appeal the judgement, Ithala operations will continue. Ithala will not be taking any deposits pending the finalisation of its application to the Prudential Authority to operate as a full bank.
 
“This judgement provides the Province of KwaZulu-Natal with just the breathing space we require to pursue the matter of Ithala with all the relevant authorities as we want it to continue operating,” the Premier added.

“Ithala is very important to our provincial economy having serviced largely people from townships and rural areas since its formation in the 70s. As Provincial Government we will move heaven and earth to make sure that Ithala does not die and is resuscitated to continue servicing the people of KwaZulu-Natal as a fully-fledged development bank,” the Premier concluded.
 
Issued by the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal.
 
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Issued by: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government