UBA Kenya has confirmed the resignation of chief executive Isaac Mwige and named regional executive Emeke Iweriebor as acting chief executive.
The lender said Mwige stepped down to pursue other career interests. Chairman James Olubayi said the resignation took effect immediately, although Mwige was expected to remain in office until the end of December to complete the handover.
Mwige had led the local subsidiary of Lagos-based UBA Plc since his appointment in August 2014, making him the first Kenyan to head the bank.
The change at the top came as the bank continued to attract attention over lending to companies that later ran into financial distress. UBA reported a net profit of Sh20.5 million for the half year ended June, nearly three times the Sh7.1 million it posted a year earlier.
Among the borrowers linked to the lender were ARM Cement, Uchumi Supermarkets, Nakumatt Holdings and Deacons East Africa. UBA was said to be owed Sh345 million by ARM Cement, Sh172 million by Uchumi, Sh250 million by Nakumatt and Sh98.3 million by Deacons.
Nakumatt had entered voluntary administration earlier in 2018 after years of debt-fuelled expansion. The retailer had already closed several outlets, including branches at Bamburi in Mombasa, Lunga Lunga in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, NextGen on Mombasa Road, Thika Road Mall and Westgate in Westlands.
Uchumi was also under pressure, facing a winding-up petition from suppliers and other creditors claiming more than Sh800 million. Court records showed that 20 companies had joined the case filed by Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society, lifting the total claims filed against the retailer to Sh865 million.
Githunguri Dairy had gone to court in September seeking to wind up Uchumi over an unpaid Sh44.8 million debt. The supermarket chain had been relying on the planned sale of land in Kasarani, valued at about Sh2.8 billion, but the transaction had been slowed by approval hurdles.
Deacons entered administration on Monday after years of losses made it difficult to service its debts. The company had earlier said shareholders were willing to rescue it, but the plan did not materialise.
Its creditors included NIC Bank, which was owed Sh524.8 million as of December 2017, and UBA Kenya Bank Limited, which was owed Sh98.3 million over the same period. By June, years of losses had reduced Deacons’ book value to Sh101.4 million.
