Bramer Banking Corporation Limited
Company typePublic
IndustryBanking and Finance
Founded29 February 1988
Defunct2 April 2015
FateLiquidation
SuccessorNational Commercial Bank
HeadquartersPort Louis, Mauritius
Key people
Dawood A. Rawat
Director
ProductsLoans, Mortgages Investments, Debit cards, Credit Cards
WebsiteHomepage

Bramer Banking Corporation, commonly known as Bramer Bank, is a financial institution based in Mauritius[1] with its head office is situated at Port Louis and currently under statutory management. It was one of the commercial banks licensed by the Bank of Mauritius, the country's central bank and the nation's banking regulator.[2]

Overview

Bramer Bank was part of the British American Investment Group,[3] formerly one of the largest conglomerates in Mauritius with investments in banking, insurance, asset and wealth management, trade & commerce and services in Bahamas, East Africa, Mauritius, Malta, South Africa and UK.[4]

History

Founding

Bramer Banking Corporation Limited was formed on February 29, 1988 as South East Asian Bank Limited (SEAB)[5] as a subsidiary of Bumiputra Commerce Bank (now CIMB bank) of Malaysia.[6] In March 1990, SEAB took over the banking business of Habib Bank AG Zurich in Mauritius. In January 2003, CIMB bank increased its stake in SEAB to 60% subsidiary of CIMB.[6]

Growth Years

In 2008, British American Investment Group acquired full control of South East Asian Bank and subsequently rebranded it to Bramer Banking Corporation.[7] On May 9, 2012 Bramer Banking Corporation's stock began trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) after the amalgamation of its business with The Mauritius Leasing Company (“MLC”) that was listed on the SEM and Bramer Holding Company.[5] The amalgamation made Bramer Banking Corporation the third largest lender in Mauritius by market capitalisation[8] and it remained a subsidiary of the British American Investment Group.

Liquidity Crisis and Closure

On April 2, 2015 Bramer Banking Corporation's banking license was revoked by the Bank of Mauritius to avoid systemic risks to the domestic financial system. Indeed, Bramer Bank had been experiencing large withdrawals of deposits placing it in a precarious liquidity situation[9] in an alleged Ponzi scheme.[10] A situation that was further worsened by Bramer Bank’s difficulty to raise funds on the interbank market. As a result, it was relying on overnight facilities from the Bank of Mauritius from March 6, 2015 in order to meet daily cash flow requirements.[10] This liquidity crisis also affected Bramer Banking Corporation's sister company BAI Co. Both firm's stock were suspended from trading on the same day.[9]

The Bank of Mauritius appointed Messrs. Mushtaq Oosman and Andre Bonieux of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the receivers pursuant to section 75 of the Banking Act 2004.

A new newly formed state owned bank known as the National Commercial Bank[11] was incorporated and took over all the assets and liabilities of Bramer Banking Corporation. The State Bank of Mauritius[12] provided limited assistance to the new bank.[13]

Ownership

As of December 31, 2013, the shareholding of Bramer Banking Corporation was as follows:[14]

Bramer Banking Corporation stock ownership
Rank Name of Owner Percentage Ownership
1 British American Investment Group 74.04
2 Others via the SEM 25.96
Total 100.00

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Banker Database - Bramer Bank". The Banker Database. Financial Times. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Banks in Mauritius" (PDF). Bank of Mauritius. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  3. ^ "CFI.co Meets the CEO of Bramer Bank: Ashraf Esmael". cfi.co. CFI. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  4. ^ "British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd - About Us". British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Bramer Banking Corporation - Information Memorandum" (PDF). Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Bramer Banking Corporation. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Profile of Banks" (PDF). 2008-04-01. Mauritius Bankers Assosiciation. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. ^ "British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd- Milestones". British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Bramer Banking Corporation - 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Bramer Banking Corporation. 31 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  9. ^ a b AROUFF, Jean Paul (3 April 2015). "Mauritius revokes Bramer Bank licence, PM says Ponzi scheme found". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  10. ^ a b Maglich, Jordan D. (3 April 2015). "Mauritius Halts $693 Million Ponzi Scheme At Bank". www.ponzitracker.com. Ponzi Tracker. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  11. ^ Vilbrin, Christina (8 April 2015). "Mauritius Creates Bank to Take Over Bramer Amid Ponzi Probe". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  12. ^ Vilbrin, Christina (3 April 2015). "Mauritius Sees Ponzi Scheme 'Evidence' as Bramer Shares Halted". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  13. ^ Vilbrin, Christina (8 April 2015). "Mauritius Creates Bank to Take Over Bramer Amid Ponzi Probe". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Bramer Banking Corporation" (PDF). Bramer Banking Corporation. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.

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