Bramer Banking Corporation

Bramer Banking Corporation Limited
Public
Industry Banking and Finance
Fate Liquidation
Successor National Commercial Bank
Founded 29 February 1988
Defunct 3 April 2015
Headquarters Port Louis, Mauritius
Key people
 Dawood A. Rawat
Director
Products Loans, Mortgages Investments, Debit cards, Credit Cards
Website Homepage

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 is part of the British American Investment Group,[3] one of the largest conglomerates in Mauritius with investments in banking, asset management, insurance and medicine 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 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.

Ponzi Scandal and Closure

On April 3, 2015 Bramer Banking Corporation's banking license was revoked by the Bank of Mauritius following a US$693 million Ponzi scheme being run at the bank.[9] This was following an onsite audit by the Mauritian Financial Services Commission that discovered a number of deficiencies. The bank had been experiencing a run placing it in a precarious liquidity situation.[10] The bank utilized th overnight lending facilities from the Bank of Mauritius from March 6, 2015 in order to meet its daily capital needs.[9]

This ponzi scheme also affected Bramer Banking Corporation's sister company BAI Co. Both firm's stock were suspended from trading on the same day[10] and PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed as the receiver manager.

A new newly formed state owned bank known as the National Commercial Bank[11] was incorporated to take over all the assets and liabilities of Bramer Banking Corporation and was in talks with the State Bank of Mauritius[12] to provide 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 2015-04-09.
  2. ↑ "Banks in Mauritius" (PDF). Bank of Mauritius. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  3. ↑ "CFI.co Meets the CEO of Bramer Bank: Ashraf Esmael". http://cfi.co/''. CFI. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  4. ↑ "British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd - About Us". British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Bramer Banking Corporation - Information Memorandum" (PDF). Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Bramer Banking Corporation. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Profile of Banks" (PDF). 2008-04-01. Mauritius Bankers Assosiciation. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  7. ↑ "British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd- Milestones". British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  8. ↑ "Bramer Banking Corporation - 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Bramer Banking Corporation. 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Maglich, Jordan D. (2015-04-03). "Mauritius Halts $693 Million Ponzi Scheme At Bank". http://www.ponzitracker.com/''. Ponzi Tracker. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 AROUFF, Jean Paul (2015-04-03). "Mauritius revokes Bramer Bank licence, PM says Ponzi scheme found". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  11. ↑ Vilbrin, Christina (April 8, 2015). "Mauritius Creates Bank to Take Over Bramer Amid Ponzi Probe". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ Vilbrin, Christina (April 3, 2015). "Mauritius Sees Ponzi Scheme ‘Evidence’ as Bramer Shares Halted". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  13. ↑ Vilbrin, Christina (April 8, 2015). "Mauritius Creates Bank to Take Over Bramer Amid Ponzi Probe". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bramer Banking Corporation" (PDF). Bramer Banking Corporation. 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2015-04-09.

External links