The liquidation of Prime Bank Gambia has caused some general panic and
confusion in the banking industry, as customers of both the bank and other
banks in the country are afraid that such a big bank is wrapping up at this
point in time.
The bank has been the second to close down in two years.
The Central Bank of The Gambia on Tuesday
issued a press release stating that Prime Bank is closing down its operations
in the country because its parent company, Societe General de Baque Liban, has
opted to divest its subsidiary in The Gambia, hence the decision not to augment
the bank’s capital to the required minimum capital of D200 million.
Prime Bank is sufficiently liquid to meet
its obligations to depositors, other creditors and any other person entitled to
funds or property thereof.
The customers, who are compelled to withdraw their savings from the
bank, have raised concerns over the bank’s closure.
“I was shocked when I hear this sad news on the television. It has been
my preferred bank but we the customers are left with no other choice except to
withdraw our savings,” says one of the bank’s customers who spoke on condition
of anonymity, after taking her deposits from the bank.
Prime Bank is the second financial
institution in the banking industry to liquidate, after Oceanic Bank also
failed to meet the minimum capital requirement of D150 million in 2010.
“Now which bank is going to close next,” Ousman
Jammeh, a customer of one of the local banks in the country, asked
rhetorically, while expressing concern over the closure of Prime Bank, a bank
he said one of his friend was banking with.
