There is a looming management crisis at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Uganda Limited as the sitting Managing Director Chioma A. Mang is being recalled to the headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
UBA (U) limited a subsidiary of a multinational Pan-African financial services group headquartered in Lagos Island, Lagos and known as Africa’s Global Bank. The abrupt recalling of the 58-year-old Nigerian lawyers and senior banker (Chioma) is not a normal transfer but a result of the negative media reports that are associated with the low business development in Uganda.
This has come at a time when she is facing too much internal pressure and other work related difficulties.
Just like her predecessor John Agoreyo whose exit at UBA Uganda did not leave any record of his next assignment, Chioma’s destiny remains obscure.
Coincidentally, her predicament at UBA comes at a time when Bank of Uganda has adopted a new model of replacing all the foreign Managing Directors of the commercial banks in Uganda with the ably competent and qualified nationals.
Although this sounds as good news to the current Executive Director at the United Bank for Africa, Kenneth Kisambira as the suitable replacement of Chioma, he has personal weaknesses and pending issues with Bank of Uganda (BoU).
It should be noted that his appointment as the Executive Director at UBA two years ago was questioned by BoU and was marred with lots of controversies.
It required a lot of lobbying and inducement for him to sail through.
Ironically, when he got what he wanted, Kisambira ignored most of the people including the Executive Directors of other banks that backed him up for the top job.
From his background, accomplishments and time in the banking sector, he has moved very fast under unclear circumstances. Those who have worked with him closely ascertain that he has leadership gaps on core values of the banking system and most importantly the customer care.
He fears meeting clients and finds it very difficult to make decisions yet these are the core values of bank business.
His character has made it very difficult for the Ugandan business community to enjoy the financial services. The time one spends negotiating for a loan and the percentage of the disbursed loan is a true testimony that UBA is not a pro-business entity.
The experts in the banking sector implore Bank of Uganda not to make a mistake of directly replacing Chioma with Kisambira since his existing flaws are costing the bank every day that passes.
Since the survival and the activities at the bank have been wanting, it is reasonable enough to open the competition to all able Ugandans in search for a potential replacement.
CHIOMA-KISAMBIRA MESS AT UBA
Besides, the record of Chioma and Kisambira at the helm of the bank has been characterized by bickering and intrigue and this has for a long time affected the growth of business.
Their tenure at the branch has seen a big exodus of the experienced bank staff due to bad working relations, poor remunerations and dissatisfaction of poor leadership. The massive turn-over to a larger extent is not only affecting the bank operations but the financial activities of the bank’s potential clientele.
To make matters worse, all the senior bankers that have been forced out by the situation join the competitors. The senior people who left the bank after the appointment include the former Executive Director, Joseph Balikudembe who joined Centenary Bank in the similar position, former Chief Operating Officer Joachim Otim – moved to Equity Bank in a similar position.
The others who left due to poor leadership are the former Branch Manager Corporate Naome Asiimwe – moved to Housing Finance Bank as well as the head of Internal control who joined the competitors. To note also is the massive exodus of all the senior staff in the department of Prestige Banking that were led by one Faith.
The vices that include but not limited to loan defaulting, electronic card fraud and money laundering by Nigerians together with Ugandan smart lawyers in conspiracy with some individuals in the bank are the order of the day.
The combination of the above has slowed the business development in almost all the branches of UBA here in Kampala and upcountry.
Lately, when you enter any UBA branch, some tills don’t have staff, service is very slow, clientele is minimal.
To cover up the mess, the Public Relations office is empowered to spread lies, negate the truth and block all the negative publications about the individuals as well as the bank’s policy makers.
A case in point is a recent scandal where a client in the same bank since 2013 sued UBA bank after his account was illegally debited without consent or court order. The Public Relations machinery was very quick to deny the matter and implored the susceptible media houses to quash the matter as baseless and it later turned out to be factual truth.
Hoziana Niyonsaba, the bank’s Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications refuted the matter saying it was spurious, false and unfounded.
When the UBA management realized that the complaint had been raised to the Bank of Uganda and the issue had gotten out of hand, they attempted to reach out to the client, but it was too late since a civil suit had been fully filed in the High Court.
The lawsuit highlights a discrepancy between the bank’s public statements and the ongoing legal proceedings.
UBA Uganda, in a press statement, reassured its customers and the public of its commitment to security and transparency. The statement read, “No such incident has occurred, and we stand by our stringent security protocols that safeguard customer accounts from any unauthorized access.”
Despite these assurances, the civil suit paints a different picture, accusing UBA Uganda of failing to fulfill its fiduciary duty to protect the client’s funds.
This scandal set a very bad precedent to all the commercial banks and sparked off a widespread debate within Uganda’s banking sector, with experts warning that the case could have significant financial and reputational consequences for UBA Uganda. It is not clear whether this particular matter forced the owners of the bank to think about the replacement of the top leadership but it clearly written on the wall that the need to protect business at UBA Uganda limited is paramount.
FACTS ABOUT UBA UGANDA
United Bank for Africa Uganda Limited, also UBA Uganda, is a commercial bank in Uganda. It is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the central bank and national banking regulator.
UBA Uganda is a subsidiary of the United Bank for Africa, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with a presence in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. The stock of UBA Transnational trades on the Nigeria Stock Exchange under the symbol UBA.
UBA Uganda is a retail bank that serves small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large corporations and individual customers. As of 31 December 2023, UBA Uganda’s total assets were USh623,093,431,000/= (approx. US$164.235 million), with shareholders’ equity of USh142,572,067,000/= (approx. US$37.6 million). UBA Uganda commenced operations in May 2008, starting with the opening of the main branch on the Kampala-Jinja Highway in Kampala and then spread to the upcountry towns of Masaka, Jinja, Mbale and Mbarara.
It offers Internet Banking (UBA Online Banking Service) gives you unrestricted and secure access to your account, anytime, anywhere on your computer, tablet, smartphones or any internet enabled device.
UBA Business Direct is the online portal for cash management and transaction banking. It offers a convenient and flexible way to manage corporate cash management and other transactions to cover all corporate banking needs.
