List of licensed Commercial Banks, Microfinance and credit institutions in Uganda. Before Uganda‘s independence in 1962, the main banks in Uganda were Barclays (UK based); Grindlays (also UK), Standard Bank (South Africa based) and the Bank of Baroda from India. The currency was issued by the East African Currency Board, a London-based body. In 1966, the Bank of Uganda (BoU), which controlled the issue of currency and managed foreign exchange reserves, became the central bank and national banking regulator. The government ownedUganda Commercial Bank and the Uganda Development Bank were launched in the 1960s. The Uganda Development bank was a state-owned development finance institution, which channeled loans from international sources into Ugandan enterprises and administered most of the development loans made to Uganda.
The East African Development Bank (EADB), established in 1967, was jointly owned by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. It was also concerned with development finance. It survived the breakup of the East African Community in 1977 and received a new charter in 1980.
In the 1960s, other commercial banks included local operations of the Bank of Baroda, Barclays Bank, the Bank of India, Grindlays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Uganda Cooperative Bank. The Uganda government took majority shares in all commercial banks in 1969 as part of President Obote’s “Move to the Left” policy, this was increased to 100% control when European and Asian business owners were expelled in 1972-75 under President Amin.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the number of commercial bank branches and services contracted significantly. Whereas Uganda had 290 commercial bank branches in 1970, by 1987 there were only 84, of which 58 branches were operated by government-owned banks. This number began to increase slowly the following year, and in 1989 the gradual increase in banking activity signaled growing confidence in Uganda’s economic recovery
This is a list of commercial banks in Uganda
- ABC Bank Uganda Limited
- Absa Bank Uganda Limited
- Afriland First Bank Uganda Limited
- Bank of Africa Uganda Limited
- Bank of Baroda Uganda Limited
- Bank of India Uganda Limited
- Cairo Bank Uganda
- Centenary Bank
- Citibank Uganda
- DFCU Bank
- Diamond Trust Bank
- Ecobank Uganda
- Equity Bank Uganda Limited
- Exim Bank (Uganda)
- Finance Trust Bank
- Guaranty Trust Bank
- Housing Finance Bank
- KCB Bank Uganda Limited
- NCBA Bank Uganda
- Opportunity Bank Uganda Limited
- Orient Bank
- Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited
- Standard Chartered Uganda
- Tropical Bank
- United Bank for Africa
List of licensed credit institutions in Uganda
This is a “list of licensed credit institution in Uganda”.
- Mercantile Credit Bank
- PostBank Uganda
- Opportunity Bank Uganda
- Top Finance Bank Uganda Limite
List of microfinance deposit-taking institutions in Uganda
This is a list of regulated “Microfinance Deposit-taking Institutions” in Uganda.
- FINCA Uganda Limited
- Pride Microfinance Limited
- UGAFODE Microfinance Limited
- EFC Uganda Limited
- YAKO Microfinance Limited
Here is a list of all the swiftcodes for banks in Uganda
| Bank or Institution | City | SwiftCode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABC CAPITAL BANK LIMITED | KAMPALA | ABCFUGKA |
| 2 | BANK OF AFRICA-UGANDA LTD. | KAMPALA | AFRIUGKA |
| 3 | BANK OF BARODA (UGANDA) LIMITED | KAMPALA | BARBUGKA |
| 4 | BANK OF INDIA (UGANDA) LTD | KAMPALA | BKIDUGKA |
| 5 | BANK OF UGANDA | KAMPALA | UGBAUGKA |
| 6 | BANK OF UGANDA (LETTERS OF CREDIT PROCESSING) | KAMPALA | UGBAUGKABKG |
| 7 | BARCLAYS BANK OF UGANDA LTD. | KAMPALA | BARCUGKX |
| 8 | CAIRO INTERNATIONAL BANK LTD | KAMPALA | CAIEUGKA |
| 9 | CENTENARY RURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK LIMITED | KAMPALA | CERBUGKA |
| 10 | CITIBANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | CITIUGKA |
| 11 | CITIBANK UGANDA LIMITED (TRADE SERVICES DEPT) | KAMPALA | CITIUGKATRD |
| 12 | COMMERCIAL BANK OF AFRICA UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | CBAFUGKA |
| 13 | DFCU BANK LIMITED | KAMPALA | DFCUUGKA |
| 14 | DIAMOND TRUST BANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | DTKEUGKA |
| 15 | EAST AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK | KAMPALA | AFDEUGKA |
| 16 | ECOBANK UGANDA | KAMPALA | ECOCUGKA |
| 17 | EQUITY BANK UGANDA LTD | KAMPALA | EQBLUGKA |
| 18 | EXIM BANK (UGANDA) LIMITED | KAMPALA | EXTNUGKA |
| 19 | FINANCE TRUST BANK LTD | KAMPALA | FTBLUGKA |
| 20 | GUARANTY TRUST BANK (UGANDA) LTD | KAMPALA | GTBIUGKA |
| 21 | HOUSING FINANCE BANK LTD | KAMPALA | HFINUGKA |
| 22 | KCB BANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | KCBLUGKA |
| 23 | NC BANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | NINCUGKA |
| 24 | ORIENT BANK LIMITED | KAMPALA | ORINUGKA |
| 25 | POSTBANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | UGPBUGKA |
| 26 | STANBIC BANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | SBICUGKX |
| 27 | STANDARD CHARTERED BANK UGANDA LIMITED | KAMPALA | SCBLUGKA |
| 28 | STANDARD CHARTERED (SECURITIES SERVICES UNIT) | KAMPALA | SCBLUGKASSU |
| 29 | TOP FINANCE BANK LIMITED | KAMPALA | TOPFUGKA |
| 30 | TROPICAL BANK LTD | KAMPALA | TROAUGKA |
| 31 | UGANDA SECURITIES EXCHANGE LTD | KAMPALA | USCDUGKA |
| 32 | UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA (UGANDA) LTD | KAMPALA | UNAFUGKA |
Classification of financial institutions
Tier I financial Institutions
This class includes commercial banks that are authorized to hold checking, savings, and time deposit accounts for individuals and institutions in local and international currencies. Commercial banks are also authorized to buy and sell foreign exchange, issue letters of credit, and make loans to depositors and non-depositors.
Tier II financial institutions
This class includes credit and finance companies. They are not authorized to establish checking accounts or trade in foreign currency. They are authorized to accept customer deposits and to establish savings accounts. They are also authorized to make loans backed with collateral or without collateral to savings and non-savings customers.[
The licensed credit institutions as of June 2020 were:
- Mercantile Credit Bank Limited – A wholly owned subsidiary of General Machinery Limited.
- PostBank Uganda Limited – Wholly owned by the Ugandan government.
- Top Finance Bank Uganda Limited.
- BRAC Uganda Bank Limited (subsidiary of BRAC International).
- Yako Bank Uganda Limited.
Tier III financial institutions
This class includes microfinance institutions that are allowed to accept deposits from customers but only in the form of savings accounts. Members of this class of institutions are known as Microfinance Deposit-taking Institutions or MDIs. MDIs are not authorized to offer checking accounts or to trade in foreign currency.[29]
The MDIs in the country as of 30 June 2020 were:
Tier IV institutions
These institutions are not regulated by the BoU. They are not authorized to accept deposits from the public. They may, however, offer loans backed with collateral or without collateral to the public. In 2008, it was estimated that there were over 1,000 such institutions in the country.
Development banks
Investment banks and stock brokerage firms
Investment banks and stock brokerage firms in Uganda are regulated by the Capital Markets Authority and the various stock exchanges in the country.
Insurance companies
There were 18 insurance companies in Uganda in January 2015.
Foreign exchange bureaus
As of March 2016, there were 246 licensed foreign exchange bureaus in the country.
Deposit insurance
The Uganda Deposit Protection Fund became operational in 1997. It is funded by premiums charged to every licensed deposit-taking financial institution in the country. Each account is protected up to UGX:10 million.[42] The Depositor Insurance Law was enacted by Parliament and states that all depositors must be paid within 90 days of a bank failure and that the failing institution must be sold by the auctioning of its assets within six months of its seizure by the central bank. If the central bank determines that the failed institution will fetch a better economic return, if sold as a whole, then it will re-open under new ownership and management, provided the new owners and managers meet the approval of the BoU.
Credit bureaux
In 2008, the Bank of Uganda registered Compuscan CRB Ltd, a subsidiary of Compuscan, as the first credit reference bureau in the county. In addition to its traditional credit bureau services, Compuscan CRB introduced and maintained the biometric identity smart card system used in the Ugandan financial industry.
With improved credit risk assessment afforded by the credit bureau, new products, including medium and long-term financing like car loans and mortgages, have been introduced by most Ugandan commercial banks. As of April 2014, interest rates that were formerly in the 20 to 30 percent range had dropped to as low as 10 percent for the best customers at some banks.
In 2015, Ugandan regulators licensed an additional credit bureau, Metropol Credit Reference Bureau Limited. Based out of Nairobi, Kenya, Metropol has operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
