I&M Bank Uganda has expanded its footprint in Ntinda by opening a full branch in the former Crane Bank premises.
The new branches add to the bank’s physical footprint. I&M Bank previously operated a service centre nearby at Capital Shoppers Mall in Ntinda.
The branches will occupy premises that were at the centre of a long-running property dispute between Meera Investments Limited, owned by businessman Sudhir Ruparelia, and dfcu Bank following the collapse of Crane Bank.
The Ntinda and Kireka buildings were among 48 properties previously occupied by Crane Bank branches whose leasehold interests were transferred to dfcu after Bank of Uganda placed Crane Bank under receivership in 2016.
Crane Bank’s assets and liabilities were subsequently transferred to dfcu in 2017, with the transaction including leasehold interests in the 48 properties.
Meera Investments, which owned the properties, challenged the transfer in court, arguing that the leases could not be transferred to dfcu without its consent as the registered landlord.
The dispute ended up in the High Court’s Land Division, which in October 2023 ruled in favour of Meera Investments.
The court found that the transfer of the leasehold interests to dfcu had been made without the written consent required under the relevant lease agreements and ordered the cancellation of dfcu’s leasehold titles.
It also ordered dfcu to hand over vacant possession of the properties and declared the bank a trespasser. Meera Investments was awarded Shs2.4 billion in general damages, in addition to costs.
dfcu later said it had already vacated the disputed properties in 2020 and that the court ruling therefore did not affect its banking operations. The bank maintained that it had acquired the properties through its Purchase of Assets and Assumption Agreement with Bank of Uganda.
