The bank has about 500,000 customers.
Just a few Crane Bank branches upcountry operated normally today as Bank of Uganda announced the take-over of the country’s third largest bank, reports URN.
After months of speculation on the status of the bank, BOU announced Crane Bank was significantly under-capitalized.
In some of the branches, clients walked in and out of the banking hall without any visible sign of a takeover, apart from police deployment alongside private security guards outside the bank.
In a message to Crane Bank’s employees in its 46 branches in the country, Prof Mutebile assured them that they would retain their jobs under the management of the regulator. The bank has about 500,000 customers.
Troubles for the local lender came to the fore about a month ago when it was revealed the bank was looking for a “strategic equity investor”. Then, its majority shareholder, businessman Sudhir Ruparelia tried to ward-off talk the bank was in trouble.
The bank’s bad loans alone accounted for a fifth of the sector’s bad assets.
Industry sources claim Crane Bank’s non-performing loans ratio hit double digits during the first half of this year.
Mutebile, while announcing the takeover, curtly denied that criminal dealing could have taken place leading to the current situation.
Last year, long-serving Managing Director of Crane Bank, A. R. Kalan left the bank and with him 18 million US dollars, which is equivalent to 62 billion Shillings at current rate.
At the time Crane Bank said Kalan was on extended leave attending to his sick wife, yet at the same time Kalan’s deputy as well as credit manager resigned under unclear circumstances.
Before leaving Uganda, Kalan also sold The Prism, a posh, high value and high-rise building on Kampala Road, which at one time housed the Uganda Securities Exchange.
