Crane Bank woes in Uganda will not affect local subsidiary - BNR

The takeover of the management of Crane Bank Uganda by Uganda’s central bank will not have an immediate effect on its local subsidiary, National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) governor John Rwangombwa has said. “However, we will keep an onsite team at the Crane Bank Rwanda to monitor what’s happening,” Rwangombwa said in a phone interview. Bank of Uganda, yesterday, announced it had taken over the management of Crane Bank and suspended its board of directors upon discovery that the bank was not capitalised as per law. “Crane Bank Ltd is significantly undercapitalised, posing a risk to the stability of the country’s financial system,” the statement signed by Uganda’s central bank governor Emmanuel Mutebile, said. “The continuation of Crane Bank’s activities in its current form is detrimental to the interests of its depositors. Bank of Uganda has appointed a statutory manager of the affairs of Crane Bank and suspended the board,” the regulator said in the statement published on its website and Twitter account. Bank of Uganda said Crane Bank had been on its watch list since September 2015 after regular onsite tests and external audit report. “Crane Bank capital had fallen below the 50 per cent legal requirement,” Mutebile added.Crane Bank Rwanda has two branches in Rwanda, both in Kigali. The bank started operations in the country in 2014. Other sources indicated that the Rwandan branch was licenced as a separate entity, which operates independent of the parent bank. Crane Bank operates nearly 500,000 customers and 46 branches in Uganda. Last week, Bank of Uganda issued a statement trying to stop a potential run on the lender after people took to social media urging depositors to withdraw their money. In September, speculations on social media forced Crane Bank to issue a statement that it was looking for a strategic equity investor with a regional or continental network. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Crane Bank woes in Uganda will not affect local subsidiary - BNR