Deals
Atlas Mara Target Crane Is Taken Over by Uganda Central Bank
- Crane Bank significantly under-capitalised, regulator says
- Lender remains open and depositors’ money will be protected
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Uganda’s central bank took control of Crane Bank Ltd., which was said to have been in talks about selling a stake to Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara Ltd., adding to a string of African bank failures this year caused by the economic slowdown and low commodity prices.
Crane is “significantly undercapitalized” and poses a risk to the nation’s financial system, the Kampala-based Bank of Uganda said in a statement Thursday on its Twitter account. It’s suspended the bank’s board and appointed new management, saying the “continuation of Crane Bank’s activities in its current form is detrimental to the interests of its depositors.”