I&M Bank Rwanda

BCR resumed operations in 1995, while many new and existing borrowers returned to Rwanda from exile with the liberating forces. Most new borrowers had no established securities or business track records in Rwanda. The Company extended many unsecured loans to the returning Rwandese refugees, even though many of them had poor credit histories. BCR sustained heavy losses as a result of this lending policy.

In 1999 and 2000, BCR experienced major changes to its shareholder structure and size. It started in 1999 with the departure of three major shareholders (Societe Financiere pour les Pays d’Outre Mer, National Bank of Paris and Dresdner Bank), prompting a modification of the Company’s shareholding structure. Subsequently, in 2000, at its Extraordinary General Meeting, BCR’s shareholders agreed to increase its share capital to RWF2.0 billion due to the Central bank increasing the minimum capital requirements to RWF1.5 billion. The capital increase was funded by the two largest shareholders, the Rwandan government and Bank Bruxelles Lambert.

BCR was placed under direct Central Bank supervision and later, the government of Rwanda then decided to privatise BCR. An audit in 2003 carried out by Deloitte & Touche for the year 2002 revealed that BCR had a net cumulative loss of RWF5.6 billion, thus eroding all of BCR’s share capital. The central bank intervened and mandated that BCR either be recapitalised or be liquidated. The shareholders of the bank decided to increase the share capital to RWF7.6 billion, but only the government agreed to subscribe for the additional capital raise. Thus, BCR became 86.8% owned by the Government of Rwanda, as opposed to 49.4% before the increase in share capital.

In December 2004, Actis acquired BCR after a recapitalization of the Company’s equity. At the time, the ordinary share capital of the Company was RWF3.5 billion. On 19 December 2007, at its Extraordinary General Meeting, the shareholders agreed to raise the ordinary share capital to RWF 5 billion. As a result, the Company issued notes with a face value of RWF5 billion. Since Actis’ acquisition of an 80% share in BCR, the Company has grown rapidly over the last few years and is now one of the leading banking institutions in Rwanda. As of 31 December 2007, BCR’s assets totaled RWF101.3 billion, with total outstanding loans of RWF53.5 billion and equity of RWF8.8 billion.

However, at the beginning of December 2004, Actis, a private investment company acquired BCR after the recapitalization of the equity share of the bank. The ordinary share capital of the bank came to RwF 3,478,750,000.

After the Extraordinary General Meeting of BCR held on 19th December 2007, the ordinary share capital of the Bank was increased to RwF 5,000,000,000.