Jostling for Clientele in the Wake of a Dollarized Economy in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the Banking Sector in Masvingo Urban

Abstract

This paper explores the various strategies that banks in Masvingo are using to lure new clients. It is argued in this paper that the hyper -inflationary environment prior to dollarization of the economy had led to a booming business for most banks engaging in illicit activities like money burning. However, adoption of the dollarization of the economy culminated into a partial decomposition and at worst death of some banks as they struggled to adjust to a new economic dispensation. Findings in this study highlight that banks are embroiled in a subtle scramble for clientele as they try to capitalize on the resuscitated client confidence in the banking sector. It emerged that banks have resorted to provision of lucrative loan deal, use of modern ICTs and engaging in various corporate social responsibility activities to improve their corporate image so as to lure new clients. This study was purely qualitative in nature and adopted a triangulation of data soliciting techniques that included unstructured interviews, Focus group discussions, secondary sources and key informant interviews.