Government has resolved to increase PostBank’s authorised share capital by 400% from UGX100 Billion to UGX500 Billion.
For customers, this means that access to low-priced financing would further be enabled while the Bank will benefit in terms of reduced cost of operations.
The move was revealed to the press Evelyn Anite, the Minister of State for privatisation and Investment after a closed-door Annual General Meeting held on August 23, at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Kampala.
Hon. Anite lauded PostBank for attaining Tier One status and congratulated the new Board and Management for reviving the bank’s past glory. “Previously the bank had been tainted with corruption, but ever since the new management came in, there has been significant growth of the brand.”
She added that the Government will inject UGX50 Billion, in the short term, to meet the emerging regulations on minimum capital requirements for banks and continue to lobby for the capitalisation of PostBank’s earnings.
“The government in partnership with PostBank has put in place programs that are intended at transforming the livelihoods of Ugandans. They include the Small Business Recovery Fund which is available at a 10% interest rate p.a with financing of up to UGX. 200 million,” Anite remarked adding that, “Agriculture is the backbone of our country and in a bid to address the issue of food security we initiated the Agriculture Credit Facility (ACF) to help agribusinessmen access affordable credit.”
Haruna Kasolo, Minister of State for Microfinance, who was representing the Minister of Finance, said that Ugandans need to understand that PostBank is their bank. “PostBank is 100% government owned, therefore it is your bank. I applaud the bank for and call upon it to continue offering affordable financing to micro, small and medium enterprises.”
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Back Row (L-R): Andrew Kabeera, Executive Director, PostBank, Justine Tumuheki Wabwire, Company Secretary, Lawrence Kasenge, Non-Executive Director, Julius Kakeeto, Managing Director, Beatrice Lagada, Non-Executive Director, Peter Ssenyange, Chief Finance Officer, George Walusansa, Regional Head of Distribution Kampala and Esther Muthoni, the Branch Manager – ForestMall Branch.
In 2020, PostBank embarked on a transformation journey, that saw the rigorous restructuring of the bank’s organogram, enhancement of the bank’s digital banking channels like the PostApp, PostMobile, PostAgents and ATMs, reinforcement of human resources and strengthening of the bank’s risk framework. This culminated in the Bank’s acquisition of a Tier One operating licence making it a fully-fledged commercial bank.
Andrew Otengo Owiny, the Board Chairman, PostBank Uganda, thanked the shareholders for their support towards the progress attained by the Bank. He welcomed the recommendations from the shareholders and pledged to utilize them to grow PostBank into one of the leading financial institutions in the country.
Julius Kakeeto, the Managing Director, PostBank, reemphasized that, “Today, we are a fully-fledged commercial bank and are able to compete favorably on the market. We now trade in foreign currency, offer cheque books to our customers, and are in the clearinghouse among many other things.”
“We’ve also built our service delivery in terms of self-serve banking channels, a wide branch network of 52 branches, 60 smart ATMs that enable instant cash deposits and card-less withdrawals, and tailor-made products like the Agriculture Credit Facility (ACF) offered in partnership with BoU, asset financing, Kyappa loans for people seeking to acquire and own land and smallholder farmer financing and recently supporting the key suppliers to coffee exporters.”
Kakeeto concluded saying that, “I would like to resound our gratitude to our shareholder for increasing the authorized share capital to UGX. 500Bn. We shall continue to offer affordable and sustainable financial services that drive financial inclusion for the socio-economic development of our country.”
In the Integrated Report 2021 that was shared with the shareholders, the Bank recorded a net profit after tax of UGX12.2 Billion, a 22% increase from UGX10 Billion recorded in 2020. Assets of the Bank grew to UGX745 Billion while customers deposits and loans grew by 12.9% to UGX507 Billion and by 36% to UGX454 Billion respectively.
