Time and time again, commercial banks in the Mozambican market have experienced anomalies in the services provided to their customers. The situation has become increasingly entrenched in recent months.

Constraints in banking occur cyclically and are covered by the press when, for days on end, it is not even possible to withdraw, deposit or transfer money. The banks' justification is well known: "There is no system".

This Monday, at a press conference, the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, blamed the recurring banking "system failures" on the commercial banks themselves.

In Zandamela's view, banks have a full responsibility and duty to notify their customers of any anomalies in the provision of services.

"We recognize it. We're not going to lie that there were problems. Clearly, institutions have to answer to their clients. In order to operate and system and have a license, there is a code of conduct that each institution has to follow, and it has to be held accountable in that respect. It's up to the institution to communicate that information to its clients who are suffering, punished. There's no doubt about it. It's the institution's responsibility to its customers," he said.

According to the Governor, it is up to the WB, as regulator and watchdog, to take action, sanctioning or dialoguing, when institutions do not respect this code of conduct.

In addition, Zandamela accuses the banks of reporting the "system failure" to the regulator too late.

"But that doesn't mean we don't know. And we've taken the initiative [to find out from] the institutions what's going on," he said.