Deals and money could see one of Uganda’s promising banks sink if the two are not curtailed in time.
Dfcu that was lured by top bosses at Bank of Uganda (BoU) to takeover Crane Bank is in the storm that business analyst can best describe as trying moment for the 3rd largest bank. Dfcu became 3rd after it took over Crane bank thereby growing its customer base and an increase on asserts.
Eagle Online has however, learnt from sources that bickering over deals and money is at the centre of the current storm facing the bank.
This website has learnt that about a week ago, the shareholders of Dfcu bank summoned a meeting in South Africa where all of them attended including the Managing Director and the board chairperson attended. It is alleged that during the said meeting, the shareholders started accusing each other over their involvement in deals without the knowledge others. The deals at stake are said to be earning of commission from big loans by a section of them without necessarily being shared by all.
It is also said that the transaction of between Dfcu and BoU surfaced and the allegation at hand were that about $3 million of the $8 million deposited by shareholders of Crane bank to BoU was instead shared between top individuals at Dfcu and leading lawyers and only declared $5 million. This website has confirmed with top BoU leadership on the issue of $3 million as having taken by the lawyers and top gurus at Dfcu. It is said that they further questioned why Dfcu is facing bad publicity over the Crane bank takeover as they wondered whether certain information as regards to the takeover was hidden. They concerns are further worsened by the fact that the bank is having liquidity problems.
Nevertheless, as the meeting got stormy, the shareholders started blaming each other of sabotage and backstabbing each other. And it is from this meeting that MD Juma Kisaame is said to have offered to resign. Conversely, the board has put his resignation on halt in order to reexamine the mess. In the meantime, the situation at the bank is tense with workers unsure on what will follow given that most of the senior stuff have been resigning while others were sacked in the ongoing restructuring process.
Inside sources told Eagle Online that also the bank shareholders want to find out allegations that some top officials seem to have chased away potential customers in the way they were handling big clients.
“I think the owners want to find out allegations that people were giving commissions before ‘big’ loans were processed” said a source.
Meanwhile Dfcu top leadership is divided on who is top appear before the committee of parliament to ask questions on regards to the revelation by the Auditor General’s report in regard to the takeover of commercial banks and more so Crane bank which Dfcu took.
DFCU top guru are among those lined up by parliamentary Com-mit¬tee on Com¬mis¬sions, Statu¬tory Au¬thor¬i¬ties and State Enterprises (Cosase) in an inquiry that is expected to begin soon, the Auditor General, John Muwanga, having presented his report on defunct banks sold/liquidated by the Bank of Uganda (BoU), Eagle Online understands.
DFCU bought Crane Bank Limited (CBL) in January 2017 and Global Trust Bank Uganda (GTBU) in July 2014 but the two deals, according to the Auditor General John Muwanga’s special report of BoU on seven defunct banks, are questionable as major documents were not available to him during his inquest of the central bank’s top brass.
The two banks were sold by BoU to DFCU on account of insolvency and under-capitalization respectively, each going for Shs200 billion and about Shs71 billion worth GTBU’s liabilities, respectively.
BoU’s sale of the two banks to DFCU, according to Muwanga was done without following established guidelines, which BoU top managers might have ignored intentionally for selfish interests. BoU sold other banks like Greenland Bank, Cooperative Bank, International Credit Bank and others in this regard of guidelines.
DFCU Shareholding percentages
Arise BV 58.71 per cent
CDC Group of the United Kingdom 9.97 per cent
National Social Security Fund (Uganda) 7.69 per cent
Kimberlite Frontier Africa Naster Fund 6.15 per cent
2 undisclosed Institutional Investors 3.22 per cent
SSB-Conrad N. Hilton Foundation 0.98 per cent
Vanderbilt University 0.87 per cent
Blakeney Management 0.63 per cent
Retail investors 11.19 per cent
BoU staff retirement benefit scheme is 0.59 per cent