Wednesday August 10, 2022
Djibouti City (HOL) - Djibouti-based Salaam African Bank (SAB) acquired Uganda's Top Finance Bank Limited earlier this week for an undisclosed price, expanding their East African portfolio, which includes operations in Ethiopia and Kenya.
The move was approved by the Bank of Uganda in a press release on Monday.
Top Finance Bank (TFB) was registered on 14th June 2012 and approved by Uganda's central bank as a second-tier credit institution.
Top Finance Bank had been experiencing financial difficulties before the sale. As of 2021, it had Shs11.6b (approx. US$3 million) in assets and has undergone a 14.7 percent drop from Shs13.6b (US$3.5 million) due to a 36.5 percent drop in lending from Shs9.6b (US$2.5 million) in 2020 to Shs6.1b (US$1.58 million) in 2021.
TFP currently has Shs12.1 billion (approx. US$3.1 million) in customer deposits.
Founded in 2008, Salaam African Bank was one of the first private locally-owned banks in Djibouti. The Sharia-compliant bank headed by Ali Abdallah Hettam is one of the largest in Djibouti.
Last year, SAB acquired Kenya-based Uwezo Microfinance Bank.