UBA elects new Board as assets soar to UGX50 trillion
The newly elected members of UBA Board pose for a group photo.
Members of the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) have voted Julius Kakeeto as their new chairperson, replacing Sarah Arapta.
Kakeeto, also the Chief Executive Officer of Post Bank, has been the Vice chairperson for two years, and has been replaced by Michael Mugabi, the CEO of Housing Finance Bank, as vice chairman.
UBA is the umbrella body of the financial institutions licensed and regulated by Bank of Uganda and has a current membership of 25 institutions.
- The other members of the new Executive Committee include; Edgar Byamah (CEO, KCB Bank) as treasurer, and Mumba Kalifungwa (CEO, Absa Bank Uganda) as honorary auditor.
The Committee Members are; Sanjay Rughani (CEO, Standard Chartered Bank), Patricia Ojangole (CEO, Uganda Development Bank), and Shafi Nambobi (CEO, UGAFODE). Wilbrod Owor, the UBA executive director, will continue serving as the secretary to the Executive Committee.
Speaking at the annual meeting recently, Sarah Arapta, the outgoing chairperson and CEO Citi Bank Uganda, highlighted some of the challenges that the industry has faced during her tenure, including fraud and dispute resolution but noted that the industry has registered robust growth.
- Total assets of the banking industry grew from UGX45.8 trillion in 2022 to UGX49.5 trillion in 2023, while customer deposits increased from UGX31.5 trillion in 2022 to UGX 33.96 trillion in 2023, according to Arapta.
Additionally, access channels, especially agent banking points across the country, increased to 33,437 banking agents by close of 2023, plus 984 ATMs and 856 bank branches.
Industry gross loans to customers also increased by 7.6 % from UGX19.6 trillion in 2022 to UGX21.1 trillion in 2023, with the top five sectors' credit portfolio by member financial institutions making up 89.1% of the total industry loan book.
These sectors included household and personal loans (UGX4.85 trillion), real estate (UGX4.31 trillion), trade (UGX3.72 trillion), manufacturing (UGX2.89 trillion), and agriculture (UGX2.53 trillion).
The banking industry paid about UGX1.3 trillion in taxes to the Uganda government, up from 1.08 trillion in 2022, while expenditure on ICT services shot up to UGX694 billion in 2023, up from UGX 392 billion in the previous year.
- Furthermore, contributions to the NSSF rose to UGX 157.3 billion up from 131 billion in 2022 with the total employee head count topping 19,428 (53% female and 47% male).
- Arapta reported that the best gift the industry gave to customers in October 2023, was the dropping of early loan repayment fees charged on outstanding loans, which was agreed to by the entire UBA membership.
“This decision to halt the charging of early repayment fees was aimed at facilitating the loan market with flexible options and alternatives in constraining economic circumstances and by extension the growth of private sector credit,’’ she added.