NUM claims it raised R800m to avert Ubank curatorship
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has hit out at the South African Reserve Bank following the decision to place Ubank under curatorship.
The SA-owned bank with a large low-income client base in the mining sector is said to be struggling with its finances.
The central bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago on Monday announced Ubank’s capital adequacy sits at 3%, while a health figure of between 10 and 20% is preferred.
KPMG was assigned the oversight position.
But the mining union’s spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu says the decision was made in bad faith.
“The issue that the Reserve Bank was unhappy about, the issue of capital adequacy, was addressed and tangible evidence was submitted to them to say this is what has happened.
“We were surprised yesterday when the Reserve Bank placed Ubank under curatorship. That really shocked and we asked ourselves what is the agenda here?”
Mammburu claims the union raised enough funds to avert the bank’s curatorship.
“We were called by the Prudential Authority advising that we should raise R800 million. Of course that money was successfully raised within 24 hours. We are wondering why the PA decided to advise the Reserve Bank to take such a drastic decision.”
Mammburu adds the union wants the central bank and the Prudential Authority to answer some tough questions.
“We want answers because there have been a lot of things that were happening behind the scenes and we can’t reveal them t the public at the moment but we can assure the public that the issue of capital adequacy has been addressed.”
NUM is one of the bank’s major shareholders.
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