…How It All Began: The Birth of Union Trust Bank from the Ashes of Meridian Bank (1995)
By: BOIMA JV BOIMA ( MR. JUSTICE)
The story of Union Trust Bank (UTB) begins three decades ago during a turbulent period for Sierra Leone’s financial sector. Back in 1995, a struggling bank called Meridian Bank was in its final days and facing collapse.
At that time, a visionary Sierra Leonean businessman named James Sanpha Koroma stepped forward with an audacious dream. Despite widespread skepticism—two private banks had already folded and a third was failing—he moved to take over the struggling Meridian Bank.
This bold move that was approved by Bank of Sierra Leone after putting Meridian Bank on resolution gave birth to Union Trust Bank, which became Sierra Leone’s first and only indigenous private bank.
It was a historic moment, and interestingly, some staff members who worked at Meridian Bank back in 1995 are still employed at UTB today, showing the deep roots of this institution.
For years, UTB stood as a point of pride for local banking. However, the financial health of the bank began to tell a very different story starting in 2018, leading to a dramatic turning point in December 2025.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: A Deep Dive into UTB’s Financial Crisis (2018-2025)
When a bank is in trouble, the truth is always found in its audited financial statements.
For UTB, those statements—publicly available records audited first by BDO from 2018 to 2020 and then by MOORE Auditing Firm from 2021 onward—painted a grim picture of consistent losses and dwindling capital. Simply put, the bank was bleeding money year after year.
To understand the severity, we must look at the “retained loss” figure. This is the total amount of money a bank has lost over its lifetime that hasn’t been recovered. It is the accumulated red ink.
For UTB, this figure ballooned into a catastrophic hole:
The bank made losses over the years as was stated in various audited financial statements
The retained loss hit a peak of 388 billion Leones in 2023 and stood at a massive 326.8 billion old Leones in 2024. This loss is approximately $14 million dollars.
By 2020, the situation had become so dire that the bank’s “equity” became negative.
Equity is the value left if you sell everything and pay off all debts. When it’s negative, it means the bank’s liabilities (the money people have deposited) are greater than its assets (loans, buildings, etc.).
In simple terms, even if the bank sold every single thing it owned—every desk, every building, every computer—it still would not have enough money to pay back all its depositors if they all showed up at once.
This is the definition of a bank being run on depositors’ money. UTB’s reliance on depositors’ funds to operate is a risky move. The longer UTB gets to keep operating, the more it uses depositors’ money, putting their funds at greater risk .
Failing to Meet the Minimum Requirements
The Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL), which is the central bank that oversees all banks in the country, sets rules to ensure banks are safe. One key rule is the “minimum paid-up capital requirement”—basically, the amount of cash the bank’s owners must have in the bank as a cushion.
In 2019, BSL raised this requirement to 85 billion old Leones, to be met by December 2021 as was widely published in most newspapers. However, UTB’s audited statements showed that from 2019 all the way through 2025, their paid-up capital remained stuck at approximately 32.76 billion old Leones. They were always short:
- By Dec 2019: They needed Le 45 billion but had 32.76 billion old Leones (a shortfall of over Le 12 billion).
- By Dec 2021: They needed Le 85 billion but had 32.76 billion old Leones (a massive shortfall).
In 2024, BSL further increased the requirement to 270 billion old Leones as was gazetted in the Sierra Leone book shop, with banks needing to have Le 122 billion by 2025.
UTB still sat at Le 32.76 billion old Leones, widening their shortfall even further. The bank was given roughly seven years to fix its capital situation, but it could not.
The Resolution of 2025: Protecting Customers, Not Punishing Them
Given these consistent losses and the failure to raise capital, the Bank of Sierra Leone had a legal duty to act. On December 8, 2025, BSL announced that UTB was being placed under “resolution”.
This is not a punishment; it is a structured process under the Banking Act of 2019 to protect depositors and keep the financial system stable.
BSL approved Rokel Commercial Bank (RCB) to take over UTB. Importantly, RCB has met the new Le 270 billion old Leones capital requirement, putting them in a strong position to manage the bank safely.
This is a good outcome for customers because their money is now under the management of a stable, well-capitalized institution.
Addressing the Misinformation: Caretakers and Mr. Wusu Koroma
Following the announcement, there were several rumors that need to be clarified:
- The Caretakers’ Salary: Contrary to claims that caretakers are draining UTB’s funds, the caretaker management team appointed by BSL is not being paid by Union Trust Bank.
If you take a look at the SWIFT incirculation, it could be seen that salaries were credited to accounts of members of the caretaker team from a source outside UTB, which means their salaries and costs are covered entirely by the Bank of Sierra Leone. Their job is simply to oversee the transition from UTB to RCB.
- The Suspension of Wusu Koroma: There have been claims that Mr. Wusu Koroma, the son of the founder, was unfairly dismissed. This is not accurate.
Mr. Wusu Koroma was not dismissed; he was placed on administrative leave. He continues to receive his full salary. His pay is still running.
The journey of Union Trust Bank has been a long one—from a bold rescue mission in 1995 to being rescued itself in 2025.
The decision by the Bank of Sierra Leone was not taken lightly. The audited financial reports showed a bank that had been losing money for years and did not have enough capital to stand on its own feet.
By stepping in and facilitating the takeover by Rokel Commercial Bank, the central bank has ensured that depositors’ funds are safe and that most staff will keep their jobs. It was a move to save the bank, not to destroy it.
Sourced: The Justice TV Online
