Stanbic Bank Uganda has announced loan holiday packages for business and personal clients affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Chief Executive Anne Juuko said, “We understand that the situation has placed challenges in your day to day lives, disrupted livelihoods and your business operations. This is why we are providing relief measures to support you in the best way we can.”
She added, “For our corporate clients, we are engaging them to understand their needs and find the appropriate solutions to ensure their business sustainability. In addition, our SME customers whose incomes have been impacted as a result of COVID19 can now apply for a payment holiday of up to 90 days based on their unique circumstances. We are encouraging our clients to reach out to our business bankers, relationship managers or contact our customer care centre.”
Juuko also said the bank will proactively work with employers to agree on an appropriate debt relief package for customers whose income has been impacted as a result of COVID19.
Stanbic acting Head of Personal and Business Banking Grace Mulisa said, “We are committed to unlocking new solutions to allow you to continue to run your businesses efficiently. We shall continue to work closely with you to consult on measures we can take to protect our clients from adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cognisant of the challenges that SMEs face to access financing, we will continue to be at the forefront of delivering wholesome solutions to entrepreneurs directly through strategic alliances and partnerships.”
SME’s are the key engine of growth for Uganda’s economy with an employment capacity of over 2.5 million people, significantly higher than the corporate private sector at approximately 800,000.
The loan holiday is effective from 1st April and customers are advised to contact the bank by 30th April 2020.
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In an arrear media conference call, Juuko had said that Stanbic is capitalised; in many cases way above the regulatory requirements and was therefore in position to support its customers withstand most of the COVID-19 knock-on effects and put them back on the path to recovery.
“Our capital adequacy, is at 15.85% versus the regulatory limit of 10%. We are well above all the regulatory limits and we have sufficient buffers to see us through and wither all the shocks that may come our way. The same is true for our total capital; while our regulatory limit is 12%, we are at 18.3%,” she said via the conference call, to discuss Stanbic Bank’s 2019 results.
She also said that the bank was very liquid with a liquid assets to total deposits ratio of 55.3%, which is more than double the limit of 20% as required by the bank of Uganda.
“Our Gross Loans to Deposit ratio is 62% while the regulatory limit is 80%. From a market sensitivity point of view, our forex loans to forex deposits is at 60% while the regulatory limit is 80%. The percentage of forex loans to gross loans is 32.8%- below the regulatory exposure limit of 40%. From a resilient point of view, we are taking the time to assure our partners that we have sufficient buffers to be able to work through this crisis and be able to continue to deliver value in 2020,” she added.
Relatedly, the bank has joined a cross-section of players in the private sector and made a UGX 100m donation to Uganda’s Ministry of Health. The contribution is geared towards supporting the government’s efforts in the fight against the pandemic that has so far seen confirmed cases in Uganda reach 53 since the disease made a landfall on March 21st 2020.
