Chase Bank: Law Society Of Kenya Regrets Not Withdrawing Its Cash Early Enough (Details)

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) chairman Eric Mutual. PHOTO: COURTESY

The Law Society of Kenya has send a statement saying it has been greatly affected by the sudden placement of Chase bank under receivership.



The lawyer’s umbrella body decried the manner in which the matter was handled even after it had received assurance from Central Bank of Kenya and Chase bank management that all was well.

“The Law Society of Kenya had taken the diligence of inquiring from Chase bank management who assured it that news of instability were alarmist,” reads a statement from the society.

It is this statement that stopped the society’s special council meeting from resolving to withdraw cash from the troubled lender on Wednesday,April, 6 as news of the bank’s apparent financial troubles dominated social media.

Although Law Society of Kenya has not specified how much has been held at the bank which has operated in the country for over 20 years, it had two active accounts with Chase bank for the last four years.

As a result, LSK has said it will be seeking audience with Central bank of Kenya in the coming days to chart a way forward in what may serve to underline just how much the move has affected its cash flow.
When a bank is placed under receivership, initially depositors can only access up to a maximum of KSh 100,000 of their deposits.

LSK has also asked all lawyers who have been affected by the temporary closure of Chase bank to file complaints with it for onward communication to Central bank of Kenya.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on Thursday April 7, 2016 placed Chase Bank under receivership following a liquidity crisis at the bank after massive customer withdrawals following rumours of a possible collapse of the bank.

CBK  has since accused social media users of spreading wrong information that resulted to the current problems at Chase bank.

Central Bank of Kenya had earlier on Wednesday, April, 6 given the bank a clean bill of health, assuring customers that the lender was in a good financial position but turned around the next placed the bank under the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) for a period of one year.