By DOH JAMES SONKEY AND NDUMBE BELL GASTON
The Board Chair of BICEC Bank, Jean Baptiste Bokam, the General Manager of BICEC, Alain Ripert, Deputy General Manager of BICEC, Madam Fabienne Bochet and the Director General of BPCE International, Jean-Pierre Levayer have vehemently dismissed rumours propagated by some people and recently relayed by French daily newspaper Le Jour that BICEC’s General Manager, Alain Ripert had resigned from the bank.
Speaking at a press conference last December 11, 2017 at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, Alain Ripert declared that “I have never resigned from my post as General Manager of BICEC and I have never thought of resigning. There is no reason for me to resign.”
After regretting that such rumours are propagated by those who wish that BICEC should not be spoken of in the present or the future but in the past, Jean Baptiste Bokam rejoiced that “their evil plans have failed because BICEC is still standing tall despite the crisis.
He explained to reporters that “We decided to meet the media in Yaounde to reassure our clients in particular and the public in general that no resignation has taken place in our bank as alleged by some unscrupulous individuals. The press conference enabled the Director General of BPCE International to inform Cameroonians that their institution has decided to change the strategy in its African network by withdrawing from the African network. He reassured that there should be no panic because they are looking for a partner to continue to manage their institutions in Africa.”
Reacting to questions posed on the health of the bank after the FCFA 50 billion internal fraud scandal carried out by some four staffs, the General Manager of BICEC, Alain Ripert replied that “Can a dying bank support HYSACAM with FCFA 11.5 billion?, can it grant school credit in four months to the tune of FCFA 21.2 billion in 2017? If this allegation is true, how come about that BICEC for 10 consecutive years remains at the top in terms of resources and employment, how come a dying bank can accelerate renovation works on its Head Office and agencies? How come a bank without resources funded 8 agricultural cooperatives within the framework of PIDMA project at FCFA 778 000 000? etc.”
On accusation that he was implicated in the fraud scandal, BICEC’s over 20 years serving Board Chair, Jean Baptiste Bokam declared that he has never been part of the audit committee of the bank and that he does not understand why even after being vindicated by the culprits, some people absolutely want him implicated in the scandal. He reassured that after the crisis many things have been done to make sure that BICEC maintains its leading status of banks in Cameroon.
BICEC (Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Epargne et le Credit) which is celebrating its 55th Anniversary is a subsidiary of the BPCE International Group. BICEC that started with over 380 clients is now counting over 400,000 customers in its 39 branches nationwide accommodating some 750 employees.