Secrets why Stanbic removed CEO Juuko

Stanbic bank Uganda, CEO Anne Juuko has been removed from her job for redeployment, this publication can further report.

We are told bosses are sending her to Standard Bank’s East African regional office in Nairobi for a yet-to-be-created regional role.

Standard Bank Group East Africa region—which owns 80% of Stanbic Bank—covers Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

It is not clear if she has accepted the new offer with sources whispering to us that she may instead take some break to concentrate on her family with lawyer-hubby Apollo Makubuya.

Her admirers see it as a promotion.

However, some watchers are wondering why such “an exceptional performer” would be removed by bosses whose interest is making as much profits as possible.

Knowledgeable sources inside the bank told this publication that Juuko was actually supposed to be removed in May last year but she pleaded with her bosses and they allowed her to stay until March this year. But why?

The fact is Juuko took over during the hard times of Covid-19 period. And she has been hoping against hope to turn things around. We are told that whereas the bank has been making some profits post Covid period, the bosses expected much and fingers were appointed at Juuko led management.

The bosses are now convinced that it’s time for a new leadership which can bring in fresh ideas to maximise profits.

“Under Juuko there has been no big net profit margin. The bank’s operating income has been slow. The same with net trading income which has been falling. The net fees and commissions income has never improved since she came in. They will not tell you but nonperforming loans have been on the increase and many bad debts written off. Stanbic’s noninterest expenses have been rising at a slower rate ever since she came in. Operating expenses and management fees have also increased. Juuko came in when shareholders’ earnings per share was above Shs5 but it has been declining. Dividends have also been stagnant. Everything has been stagnant ever since she came in,” explained an insider.

The Board of Directors at a meeting held on 17 August 2023, resolved to approve the payment of an interim dividend for the period ended 30 June 2023 of UShs 2.44 per share totalling to Shs 125 billion-editor.

FRAUD

Various frauds at the bank also cast Juuko’s led management into doubt. Sources told us that the bosses expected her led-management to come up with solutions but the scammers kept proving sophisticated.

Matters were made worse when some suspects happened to be insiders.

Day and night pressure has been mounting on the bank to assure clients that their savings and other interests in the bank are protected.

According to insiders, last year’s heist that saw a customer lose about $1.8m (shs 6.6bn) after the financial institution’s system was compromised hit the bank hard.

The alleged $1.8m fraud reportedly dealt a severe blow to its reputation.

This is strange but true. Another source told us that Juuko’s closeness to the corridors of power may have accelerated her removal. We are told the bank bosses were not happy with her closeness to people that matter in this government.

And bosses who have nothing to do with the government in power and its politics as long as they were making profits reportedly suspected that Juuko had started mixing bank business with local politics.

But this is a story for another day.

Removing her was the only strategic option they were left with.

We are also told a section of staff have never embraced Juuko’s management style.

Morale has been at its lowest during Juuko time, something that affected performance and profit maximization.

Staff have been reportedly living in fear of knifing at any slightest mistake.

We are told at some point firing staff to maximize profits has been one of the latest strategies by Juuko led management.

“There is a branch in Mubende that had 100% staff terminated recently. The morale is very low. They are relying on cost cutting by not filling vacant positions to make profits,” further revealed a source at the bank.

A section of current and former staff have also complained of not getting their provident funds in the name of maximizing profits.

“Staff are not given an end of year party or even a shopping voucher of mere shs50,000. This is the standard former bosses, Philip Odera and Patrick Mweheire had set to recognize the staff efforts in keeping the bank profitable. But Juuko’s management has failed. They have been instead rewarding themselves hundreds of millions in bonuses for ‘good’ performance ignoring the staff who actually bring in these profits,” rants the ex-staffer and reminisces: “Stanbic bank was once the best employer anyone could ever think of, but it has reduced to a ghost of itself.”

It goes without mention that many people inside and outside the bank have been envying Juuko’s job. There are other stakeholders who may have been affected by her management-led decisions in one way or the other. It is believed all these may have worked behind the scenes to see her removed.

Last year’s shs6.6bn heist which occurred under Juuko leadership gives credence to this. We are told since then top management had been split on how the matter was handled.

Some officials reportedly preferred it to be handled internally or swept under the carpet.

However, Juuko preferred to alert the police and the matter went public.

And because of that decision, officials there marked her for fixing and some insiders say they are not surprised that she has been removed.

“This [fraud] was shocking to Juuko and while some people around her badly wanted this to be kept a secret, she boldly rejected and immediately asked the intervention of the police in the investigation,” an insider intimated to this publication.

“She is now paying the price,” he added.

This also corroborates revelations by a former staff member who told this publication that Juuko was no longer in charge but ‘get rich quick gangs’ inside the bank had taken over in a bloodless coup.

According to this ex-staffer who worked at the bank for 12 years before being shown exit, Juuko is a well-intentioned lady, good administrator and strategic but the cartel or a get rich quick gang inside the bank would never allow her to shine.

The ex-staffer further stresses that this cartel controls the recruitment process and promotion to an extent that managerial positions are given to people with no basic banking experience, no knowledge of bank processes and procedures but qualified on tribal basis.

“They are literally untouchable because the processes and procedures and the avenues for reporting such fraudulent acts are closed. One can only succeed in getting a sack for standing in their way.”

This ex-staffer further told us that the bank cartel even has powers to quietly force some non-cooperative staff on leave.

And in your absence, they reset your username password. Once this is done they use your logins to commit fraud and you will never know until you see investigators coming for you for a crime you have no idea about.

Juuko is currently married to city lawyer Apollo Makubuya. Makubuya is a top corporate lawyer, who serves as the chairperson of the board of directors at Equity Bank Uganda Limited, one of Uganda’s commercial banks. We are told Juuko’s bosses at Stanbic have never felt comfortable with their CEO being married to someone close to their rivals. Was she leaking secrets?

Red Pepper understands that Juuko’s four-year term ends this March 2024 and after that, she will be packing her bags to Nairobi.

It shall be recalled that in a December 2023 interview with a local newspaper, Standard Bank Group’s Regional Chief Executive for East Africa Patrick Mweheire said that Standard Bank, which owns 80% of Stanbic Bank, was happy with her performance and was considering her for a regional big job.

“We are very proud of the exceptional job she has done—leading the business to record-breaking numbers, through what was a challenging period—with the lengthy pandemic and other factors in the operating environment,” Mweheire told the local newspaper.

Mweheire then said Juuko’s movement was routine.

“The Standard Bank Group typically works in chief executive cycles of three to five years and Anne has now done four years, and I can confirm that her term comes to an end at the end of March 2024,” he said.

“She has led and continues to lead the team well in building our franchise, keeping us relevant in the market and in many ways, also providing trailblazing female leadership across Uganda and the region. We are very grateful for her dedication and we would love to keep and see her take on even bigger responsibilities within the Group. Given the level of confidence we have in her, I would say the next logical step after here would be a regional management role where she can partner with me and support more countries like I do,” Mweheire added.

On Friday, an online publication reported that Juuko would be taking up a Regional Head, Global Markets role.

That wouldn’t be surprising, given that she has spent the biggest part of her career in global markets as well as corporate and investment banking.

She was between April 2009 a VP, Head of Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities at Citibank Uganda Limited, before heading to Citibank Kenya as VP, Customer Sales and Derivatives Marketing, a role she served between June 2010 and June 2012.

She then returned to Stanbic Bank to take up the Head, Global Markets role till December 2017 when she was appointed Head, Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank, Namibia; a role she took up in January 2018. It is from here that she was appointed the Stanbic Uganda Chief Executive, a role she took up in March 2020.

Juuko holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and a master’s degree in Strategic Planning from the Heriot Watt Business School in Edinburgh, Scotland.