No award There would appear to be two ways of interpreting the performances of those banks that continue to maintain a presence in Zimbabwe. One would be to nominate them for medals for offering relatively efficient banking services in the midst of an economy in free fall. In May, for example, there was a 31% currency devaluation and desperate shortages of fuel, food and foreign exchange have become commonplace.
A harsher interpretation would be to suggest that those banks maintaining a presence in Zimbabwe are giving their tacit approval to a government that has presided over the almost wholesale destruction of a resource-rich economy in the past five years.
Until that precipitous socio-economic decline is arrested, Euromoney will continue to conclude that it would not be appropriate to make an award for best bank in Zimbabwe.