The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has come to the spot, with Members of Parliament seeking to establish the fiduciary state of affairs of the liquidated banks in the country, among them Crane Bank.
And in a bid to get to the bottom of the matter, Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authority and State Enterprise (COSASE) has asked the Auditor General to audit the BoU with a view of knowing the reasons behind the closure of banks like Greenland Bank of Sulaiman Kiggundu (RIP), International Credit Bank of Thomas Katto (RIP)’ the National Bank of Commerce and the Crane Bank that was closed in December last year.
In a closed door meeting with officials from BoU led by Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende to answer queries raised in the AG’s 2016 report, Abdu Katuntu, the Cosase chairperson, said the 90-day audit should be comprehensive, covering all aspects like assets and liabilities of the closed banks.
He also said a supra audit would be carried out to check the efficiency of the Bank Supervision Directorate that is headed by Ms. Justine Bagyenda.
Meanwhile, the BoU has asked to committee to keep matters regarding Crane Bank’s liquidation confidential, informing the members that the case is before court.Documents presented to COSASE reveal that BoU has so far spent Shs4.5 billion on Crane Bank case minus legal fees for external lawyers.