BoU probe not about Crane Bank-Parliament
Nov 01, 2018
According to the committee chairperson Abdul Katuntu (Bugweri County), the probe that kicked off Wednesday is also about six other commercial banks that have been taken over since 1993.
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile faced Parliament on Thursday
The Parliament Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has dismissed the notion that its probe into Bank of Uganda's (BoU) closure of seven commercial banks is coined around the defunct Crane Bank.
In 2016, the central bank took over management of Crane Bank Limited over significant under capitaliSation of the institution and possession of a risk to the stability of the financial sector.
In the subsequent year after the takeover, BoU citing continued insolvency, transferred Crane Bank to dfcu Bank.
But according to the committee chairperson Abdul Katuntu (Bugweri County), the probe that kicked off Wednesday is also about six other commercial banks that have been taken over since 1993.
The banks include Teefe Bank (1993), International Credit Bank Ltd (1998), Greenland Bank (1999), The Co-operative Bank (1999), National Bank of Commerce (2012) and Global Trust Bank (2014).
Former Crane Bank head office on Kampala Road
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile and his deputy, Dr. Louis Kasekende Thursday met the committee chaired to answer several queries raised by the AG John Muwanga about the closure of the banks in question.
Parliament last year tasked Muwanga to carry out a special audit following a whistle blower that claimed irregularities during the closures but in their submitted responses, the central bank denies any wrong doing.
During the interface, Katuntu said that although the BoU officials have filed their responses, they sound more like a monologue unless backed with documentary evidence to back up the claims.
On his part Kasekende warned that not all documents will be furnished to the committee because some such as the loans schedule are subject to confidentiality clauses provided for in the country's legal framework.
Mutebile has asked the committee up to close of business on Monday to avail the needed documents, but the lawmakers will not convene until Friday after reading and internalising the documents.
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