Yoma Bank

Yoma Bank Limited
Private
Industry Banking
Founded 1993
Headquarters Myanmar
Key people
 Serge Pun
Products Financial Services
Number of employees
 3005[1]
Website www.yomabank.com.mm

Yoma Bank Limited (Burmese: ရိုးမဘဏ်; Chinese: 祐瑪銀行; pinyin: Yòumǎ Yínháng) is one of Myanmar's (Burma) largest commercial banks. It was established by First Myanmar Investment Company (FMI) in August 1993, with its first branch in Mingala Taungnyunt Township in Yangon.[2] Today, Yoma Bank has over 41 branches in 24 cities.[3] Yoma Bank was among many privately owned banks affected in the 2003 banking crisis, during which consumer confidence dropped after rumours spread throughout the country about the security of savings accounts. Like most all other privately owned banks in the country, the bank was solvent and maintained a sound loan to equity ratio, but was unable to withstand the abrupt and massive withdrawal of deposits and had to resort to the Central Bank's support. Its operations were subsequently curtailed and was allowed to remain open with limited services. During the 2003 financial crisis, Yoma Bank was brought undone largely through poor banking practices and lax lending controls, although it did not figure in the money-laundering practices that other local banks were accused of.[4] The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) alleged that Yoma Bank had violated the country's 1990 Financial Institutions of Myanmar Law (FIML), although never specifying the specific breaches.[5]

Yoma Bank's former chairman Serge Pun (also known as Thein Wai) is now chairman and CEO of Yoma Strategic Holdings, a Singapore listed public company whose investments include both in Myanmar and China. Former Myanmar Central Bank Governor, U Kyi Aye, was the Special Advisor to former chairman Serge Pun from 2000 to 2006, and as non-executive director of Yoma Strategic Holdings since 2006.

In 2008, the American Embassy in Rangoon recommended both YOMA Strategic and FMI to be placed under the sanctions list. This was alongside 31 other companies that included Htoo Trading - owned by [Tay Za] - and Asia World - owned by [Steven Law]. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/11/08RANGOON896.html

Serge Pun devoted to the most important corporate policy as business ethics - to be clean in business conduct, and such policy brought him the cleanest reputations in Myanmar to outside observers, and at the same time establish a bunch of rivals. It is not strange for his rivals to spread as misgivings about this reputation. In an example of how he and his team of managers got bullied by his business partners - the building of the Grand Mee Ya Hta Service Apartments - there was tales of years of non-payment, harassment, conscious negligence and causing business deadlock by his managing partners and such liabilities at the end were taken care alone by him. In more hilarious way, such events were translated differently by different sets of people.

Currently in 2013, Serge Pun's Group of Companies have been bidding on some licenses that the government has put out to tender. His Singapore listed entity and Myanmar entity formed strategic alliance to invest jointly in Myanmar business together with prominent foreign partner.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "PROFILE - Main Shareholders". Yoma Bank. 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  2. ↑ "Yoma Bank Ltd.". Serge Pun & Associates (Myanmar) Ltd. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  3. ↑ "Affiliated Companies - Financial Services". Yoma Strategic Holdings. 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  4. ↑ Turnell, Sean (2004). "Some Further Developments in Burma's Financial Sector". Macquarie University. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  5. ↑ Turnell, Sean (2009). Fiery dragons: banks, moneylenders and microfinance in Burma. NIAS Press. p. 312. ISBN 978-87-7694-040-9.