Housing Bank of Rwanda (HBR), also known as Rwanda Housing Bank, was a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. Its name in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

is Banque de l'Habitat du Rwanda SA (BHR). The bank was one of the

s licensed by the

National Bank of Rwanda The National Bank of Rwanda ( rw, Banki Nkuru Y'u Rwanda, french: Banque Nationale du Rwanda) is the central bank of Rwanda. The bank was founded in 1964. The current governor of the bank is John Rwangombwa. Location It is quartered at the N ...

, the national banking regulator.

History

The bank was opened in 1975, as a housing finance institution as well as a real estate developer. HBR was registered as a limited liability company. On 2 July 2004, the

, the country's

Central Bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

, granted HBR a Provisional License to operate as a Housing Bank. The license was contingent upon the institution raising its share capital to the minimum of US$2.65 million, to comply with then current banking laws in Rwanda. On 25 February 2005, the shareholders of Banque de l'Habiatat du Rwanda (BHR), held an Extra Ordinary General Meeting and decided to increase their share capital to the required minimum, to change their name to Housing Bank of Rwanda and to change their mission from a mortgage company/real estate developer to a Commercial Bank that specializes in Housing Finance.

Ownership

As of April 2010, the bank's

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

was owned by the following corporate entities:

Branch network

As of April 2010, the bank maintained its headquarters at Avenue de la Justice, in the city of

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

's capital. No other branches were known to exist at that time.

Takeover and liquidation

In April 2011,

Rwanda Development Bank Development Bank of Rwanda, commonly referred to by its French name Banque Rwandaise de Développement (BRD), is a development bank in Rwanda. It is one of the banks licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, the national banking regulator. Ove ...

, known by its

symbols BRD, acquired a 100% controlling interest in Housing Bank of Rwanda. BRD is in the process of absorbing the assets, liabilities and staff of HBR. After re-organization, BRD will commence retail banking operations. In addition, it will begin underwriting mortgage products originated by other

s in the country, in an attempt to increase home ownership in

. At the time of takeover, HBR's total assets were valued at about US$23.7 million (RWF:14 billion).

External links

HBR One of Three Rwandan Banks in Mortgage Financing (HBR, CBR & KCB)

References