Banque Populaire du Rwanda

Banque Populaire du Rwanda (Part of Atlas Mara)
private
Industry Financial Services
Founded 1975
Headquarters Kigali, Rwanda
Key people
 John Vitalo Chairman of the board,
Sanjeev Anand MD,
Products loans, checking, savings, investments, debit cards
Revenue Increase Aftertax:US$540,000 (RWF:395.2 million (Q3:2015)[1]
Total assets US$325 million (2015)[2]
Number of employees
 1,477 (2014)
Website www.bpr.rw

Banque Populaire du Rwanda Ltd (BPR; Kinyarwanda: Banki y'Abaturage y'u Rwanda), formerly Banque Populaire du Rwanda SA, is a commercial bank in Rwanda. Banque Populaire du Rwanda Ltd (BPR), is a commercial bank in Rwanda and licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, the national banking regulator.

Overview

Banque Populaire du Rwanda is one of the thirteen licensed commercial banks in the Republic of Rwanda.[3] BPR is commonly known to focus on retail (consumer) banking activities (current and savings accounts, loans, etc. and consumer banking tools like mobile banking), as well as agricultural business expertise, with corporate customers in the food and agri-business value chain - in-line with their farming/cooperative foundation and involvement Rabobank as a shareholder.[4]

As of October 2015, BPR was a medium-sized financial services provider in Rwanda. Its total asset valuation was approximately US$325 million. At that time, shareholding in the bank was valued at about US$50 million.[2] The bank focused its lending to businesses in the agricultural sector. It employed 1,477 staff at that time.[5]

History

The origins of the bank can be traced back to 1975, when the first Banque Populaire du Rwanda was formed in the settlement of Nkamba, in the city of Kibungo, Eastern Province. Over the next ten years, many other similar banks were founded around the country. In 1986, the various autonomous Banques Populaires formed an umbrella called the Union des Banques Populaires du Rwanda (UBPR). UBPR was operated as a cooperative bank.

In January 2008, following 33 years of experience in the Rwandan financial sector, UBPR was transformed from a cooperative bank into a commercial bank: Banque Populaire du Rwanda S.A.[6] In June 2008, Rabobank, the Dutch cooperative banking conglomerate, acquired 35 percent of the shares in BPR.[7][8] In July 2012, Visa Inc. certified the bank to issue visa-branded debit and credit cards.[9]

In January 2016, Atlas Mara completed its acquisition of a controlling stake of BPR after acquiring shares from existing shareholders and merging the bank with the commercial banking business that was spun off BRD.[10]

Ownership

As of August 2016 the bank's stock is owned by the following corporate entities:[2][10][11]

The table below, summarizes the stock ownership of BPR
Banque Populaire du Rwanda Stock Ownership
Rank Name of OwnerPercentage Ownership
1Atlas Mara Limited
62.1
2Arise Consortium (Rabobank)[12]
14.6
3Other Minority Shareholders
23.3
Total100.00

Arise is an investment company that focuses on investments in Africa. It is owned by a consortium of European financial institutions including FMO, Rabobank and Norfund[12]

Branch network

As of August 2009, Bank Populaire du Rwanda maintained a network of 25 full-service branches, including at the following locations: [13]

  1. Main Branch - Kigali
  2. BPF Branch - Kigali
  3. Kimironko Branch - Kimironko, Kigali
  4. Muhima Branch - Muhima, Kigali
  5. Rwezamenyo Branch – Rwezamenyo, Kigali
  6. Muhanga Branch - Muhanga, Southern Province
  7. Musanze Branch - Musanze, Northern Province
  8. Rusizi Branch - Rusizi, Western Province
  9. Gicumbi Branch - Gicumbi, Northern Province
  10. Rubavu Branch - Rubavu, Northern Province
  11. Ngoma Branch - Ngoma, Eastern Province
  12. Huye Branch - Huye, Southern Province
  13. Rwamagana Branch - Rwamagana, Eastern Province
  14. Karongi Branch - Karongi, Western Province
  15. Nyamagabe Branch - Nyamagabe, Southern Province
  16. Nyagatare Branch - Nyagatare, Eastern Province
  17. Bugesera Branch - Bugesera, Eastern Province
  18. Nyanza Branch - Nyanza, Southern Province
  19. Ngororero Branch - Ngororero, Western Province[14]

Governance

The activities of Banque Populaire du Rwanda are supervised by a nine-member board of directors representing commercial activities, operations, risk and the branch network, headed by the managing director, (MD). The current MD is Sanjeev Anand.[15]. The current chairman of the board is John Vitalo.[16] The day-to-day affairs of the bank are managed by a six-member executive management team, led by Sanjeev Anand, the Managing Director.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ BPR (30 September 2015). "BPR Financial Returns for the Period Ended 30 September 2015" (PDF). Kigali: Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR). Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Press Statement (30 October 2015). "Sale of BPR Equity Stake to Atlas Mara and Merger of BPR and BRD Commercial Bank". Atlas Mara Limited (AML). Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. ↑ ;
  4. ↑ BNR. "List of Licensed Commercial Banks In Rwanda" (PDF). National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  5. ↑ RB (2014). "Profile of Banque Populaire du Rwanda". Rabobank (RB). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  6. ↑ BPR, . (2014). "History of Banque Populaire du Rwanda". Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Magyambere, Gertrude (13 June 2008). "Rwanda: Dutch Bank Invests RWF6.5 Billion Into BPR". New Times (Rwanda) via AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  8. ↑ The Administrator, . (1 November 2012). "The Profit Puzzle" (PDF). The Independent (Uganda). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Nyesiga, Dias (30 July 2012). "BPR Gets Visa Certification". New Times (Rwanda) via AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 "ATLAS Mara Limited: Completion of BPR Acquisition". Yahoo!. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  11. ↑ BPR (3 June 2016). "Background of Banque Populaire du Rwanda SA". Kigali: Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR). Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 Kabona, Esiara (4 August 2016). "European lenders form new $660m African investment firm". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Saul Butera, and Ruth Kang'ong'oi (7 August 2009). "Rwanda: BPR in On-Line Harmonisation of Local Branches". New Times (Rwanda). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  14. ↑ BPR Maintains Branch In Ngororero
  15. ↑ Management Team of BPR Archived September 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ BPR, . (2014). "BPR Board of Directors". Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  17. ↑ BPR (2014). "The Executive Staff At BPR". Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
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