The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has indicated that it will not immediately move to compensate Finance Bank of Malawi (FBM) despite a recent Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in the bank's favour, signalling that the long-running legal battle is far from over in practical terms.
Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered RBM to compensate FBM for loss of business and profits dating back to 2005, when the central bank revoked FBM's licence as an authorised dealer bank.
However, RBM says any response will only come after an official assessment of the compensation is completed.
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"We have noted the ruling by the highest court and we will await the assessment of the compensation by the registrar," RBM spokesperson Boston Banda said in a written response.
This means that while FBM has secured a major legal victory, the process of translating the judgment into actual financial compensation is still at a very early stage.
The case was heard by a seven-member panel of judges led by Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda. FBM was represented by lawyers Wapona Kita and Mordecai Msisha, who challenged RBM's decision to revoke the bank's licence.
Kita said the matter has now been referred to financial experts to calculate the extent of losses suffered by the bank, and that these figures will later be submitted to the court.
"We have engaged experts to do the calculations, and we will come back to the court with the figures," Kita said.
This assessment process could take months, and possibly longer, especially given the complexity of calculating profits lost over nearly two decades.
The dispute dates back to May 2005, when RBM suspended FBM's foreign currency operations after allegedly finding that the bank had breached banking regulations.
RBM later recommended to the Ministry of Finance that FBM's banking licence be revoked.
FBM rejected the accusations and filed a substantive counterclaim, challenging the legality of the suspension and revocation, and demanding damages for losses it claimed to have suffered as a result.
During the proceedings, the parties entered into a consent order aimed at regulating interim arrangements, including possible restoration of FBM's operations under certain conditions.
However, after hearing the matter, the High Court dismissed FBM's counterclaim and upheld RBM's actions, ruling that the central bank and the Minister of Finance had acted within their legal mandate.
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The High Court also treated the consent order as a bar to FBM's claim for damages.
Unhappy with the decision, FBM appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal -- a move that has now paid off legally, but not yet financially.
Although the Supreme Court has overturned the earlier ruling and ordered compensation, the exact amount remains unknown, and the assessment process could be contested or delayed.
For FBM, the judgment represents moral and legal victory after nearly 20 years of litigation. But for now, the journey from court ruling to actual payment remains long, technical, and uncertain.
