According to the ZimBollar Research Institute, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe failed to deal decisively with the financial black market (alternative market) when it floated the bond note. Below is the full thread on the RBZ missed an opportunity:
Why the InterBank Market is a Missed Opportunity
In an unconventional fashion, we will use a scripture reference from the word of God in Mark 3 v 27- “No Man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods except he will first bind the strong man…….”
The STRONG MAN in the context of Zimbabwe’s Currency crisis is the Forex Alternative Market. When the Interbank Market was introduced on 22 Feb 2019, the RTGS/USD rate was at $3.85. Whatever interventions we would make were supposed to match (BIND) the Alternative Market (STRONGMAN)…..
To completely eliminate the Alternative Market the Interbank Market needed to set the initial price above the $3.85 obtaining on the 22 Feb 2019 instead of a starting rate of $2.5. This would have incentivised USD Holders to use official channels and improve forex supply.
Instead of allocating forex seed capital to kickstart the Interbank Market, the RBZ should simply have genuinely liberalised the market and allow Banks to match whatever the IB Market was offering. Seed capital should have been introduced later to improve forex supplies and sustain the market.
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