Orient Bank


Orient Bank is a commercial bank in Uganda which is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the central bank and national banking regulator.

Location

The bank's headquarters and main branch are located at Orient Plaza, 14 Kampala Road, in the central business district of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The geographical coordinates of the bank's headquarters are:
0°18'44.0"N, 32°35'08.0"E.

Overview

The bank is involved in all aspects of commercial banking, with emphasis on providing banking services to non-government organisations and their staffs. As of December 2019, the bank's total assets were valued at UGX:814.3 billion, with shareholders' equity of UGX:114.1 billion.

History

The bank was founded in 1993 by a group of businesspeople who were related by blood and marriage.
In 1996, the bank opened its second branch in the city of Jinja, about one hour's drive east of the capital Kampala. In 2002, the bank acquired Trans-Africa Bank Limited, which had been declared insolvent by the BOU.
Following a spate of Ugandan bank failures in the 1990s and early 2000s, the banking laws in Uganda were changed to bar family members from jointly owning more than 49 percent in the same financial institution. Orient Bank was given a grace period to find a suitable investor.
In April 2009, Bank PHB Group, a Nigerian financial services group, acquired 80 percent shareholding in Orient Bank for a cash payment of US$62 million. In August 2011, the group was itself declared insolvent by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and its assets and some liabilities were acquired by Keystone Bank Limited, which was owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In July 2014, international media reported that Keystone Bank planned to divest from Orient Bank. In February 2015, Keystone Bank divested from Orient Bank by selling 42 percent shareholding to a private equity firm 8 Miles Fund, whose shareholders include celebrity entertainer and activist Bob Geldof, and the remaining 38 percent was sold to three individuals, namely Ketan Morjaria; one of the founders of the bank, Alemayehu Fisseha, and Zhong Shuang Quan.

Ownership

As of February 2015, the shareholding of the bank was as depicted in the table below:
RankName of OwnerPercentage Ownership
1Ketan Morjaria49.0
28 Miles Fund42.0
3Alemayehu Fisseha4.5
4Zhong Shuang Quan4.5
Total100.0

Acquisition

In July 2020, I&M Holdings Limited signed an agreement with the shareholders of Orient Bank Limited, to buy 90 percent equity in the issued share capital of Orient Bank Limited. The transaction is valued in excess of KSh2 billion, and is subject to regulatory approval from Uganda and Kenya.

Governance

The bank is governed by a seven-person board of directors, two of whom are executive directors and the other five are non-executive. Michael Cook, one of the non-executive directors, is the chairman. Kumaran Pather is the managing director and chief executive officer.

Branch network

, the bank had a network of branches in the central, eastern, and northern regions of Uganda. The branches of the bank included the following locations:
  1. Main Branch - Orient Plaza, 6/6A Kampala Road, Kampala
  2. Acacia Branch: Acacia Shopping Mall, Kisementi, Kololo, Kampala
  3. Arua Branch: 12 Avenue Road, Arua
  4. Ben Kiwanuka Branch: Haider Plaza, Ben Kiwanuka Street, Kampala
  5. Bweyogerere Branch: Mamerito House, Jinja Road, Bweyogerere
  6. Entebbe Downtown Branch: 29 Kampala Road, Entebbe
  7. Entebbe Airport Branch: Entebbe International Airport
  8. Garden City Branch: Garden City Mall, Yusuf Lule Road, Kampala
  9. Gulu Branch: 15 Lamho Building, Awere Road, Market Square, Gulu
  10. Jinja Branch: 8 Lady Alice Muloki Road, Jinja
  11. Kabalagala Branch: 1900 Ggaba Road, Kabalagala, Kampala
  12. Katwe Branch: Muganzirwazza Shopping Mall, Muteesa I Road, Katwe, Kampala
  13. Kawempe Branch: 78 Bombo Road, Kawempe, Kampala
  14. Kikuubo Branch: Grad Corner House, Kikuubo, Kampala
  15. Kisekka Branch: Lohana Arcade, Nkivubo Road, Kampala
  16. Kololo Branch: Nyonyi Gardens, 16/17 Wampeewo Avenue, Kololo, Kampala
  17. Makerere Branch: Ham Shopping Plaza, Makerere Hill Road, Makerere, Kampala
  18. Mbale Branch: 23 Naboa Road, Mbale
  19. Mbarara Branch: 73 High Street, Mbarara
  20. Nkrumah Road Branch: Mirembe Arcade, Nkrumah Road, Kampala
  21. Ntinda Branch: Capital Shoppers Mall, Ntinda Road, Ntinda
  22. William Street Branch - William Street, Kampala.