The Bank of South Sudan has revoked two operational licenses belonging to two Commercial Banks.
The Saint Theresa Rural Development and Southern Rock banks’ licenses have been revoked by the Bank of South Sudan. On January 14, 2016, the Saint Theresa Rural Development Bank received its license; a year later, the Southern Rock received its license.
The governor of Bank South Sudan stated in a public notification dated December 29, 2022, that since their inception, the two private commercial banks have not engaged in any banking activity.
The governor of the central bank, Jonathan Ohisa Damian said that the specific banks did not accept money deposits from the general public or other repayable funds, or even offer credit for their own accounts.
In a news release, Bank Governor Damian stated, “Since the Bank of South Sudan(BoSS) gave operational license to Southern Rock Bank on 14th January 2017, many efforts were made by the BoSS to revive the bank through the process of stabilizing their capital structure and recruiting new investors.” He added that the banks had been acting outside of their authority and had not been conducting typical banking activities in the Republic of South Sudan.
Despite all efforts, the management of (the banks) has not yet taken any steps to ensure that essential services are provided to the public while the bank’s doors are kept closed for business, according to the Bank of South Sudan. As a result of the above-mentioned, the banks were directed to surrender their license to the Bank of South Sudan and their licenses were canceled effective at the beginning of this month.