The Bank of Uganda has awarded Standard Chartered Bank, the Best Performing Primary Dealer Market Maker (PDDM)of the year for the year ending September 2023.
The Primary Dealer Market Makers system was launched in 2005 to enhance the government securities market by improving liquidity, pricing efficiency, and secondary market trading activity.
There are 08 banks playing this role. They are Absa, Centenary, Citi, dfcu, Equity, Housing Finance, Stanbic and Standard Chartered Bank. Citibank and Equity are the latest entrants to the PDMM system.
To arrive at the best dealer, the Central Bank’s performance criteria focused on posting two-way pricing on the E- bond platform, reporting trades on Bloomberg, and transacting on these systems to increase global visibility ahead of index listings.
Handing over the award, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego applauded Standard Chartered for its “valuable contribution to developing Uganda’s securities market”.
“I am honoured to announce Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Ltd as the Best Performing PDMM for the ranking year. Standard Chartered exemplified its market-making role through consistent pricing on the E-bond platform, active auction participation, trade reporting on Bloomberg, and contributing to overall market liquidity,” the Deputy Governor said.
Dr. Atingi-Ego also said that last year, Uganda had successfully joined the FTSE-Russell Frontier Markets Bond Index in July 2023 and is currently pursuing inclusion in others like the AFMI Bloomberg Bond Index.
“These milestones reflect reforms enhancing market transparency, infrastructure, and product development over the past decade. The secondary market turnover ratio increased from 54% before reforms to 157% this past year,” he said, adding: “While celebrating progress, there are still areas to improve, including disclosure standards, leveraging the regulatory framework, and technological capabilities to elevate operational efficiency and market access. The Bank of Uganda remains committed to championing further development”.