Centenary Bank Uganda capped off 2024 with another year of impressive financial and operational growth, reinforcing its position as a market leader in financial inclusion and sustainable banking. The Bank delivered solid results across key metrics—growing customer deposits, loans, total assets, and profitability—while deepening its digital and rural outreach.
Fabian Kasi, the Managing Director of Centenary Bank, expressed his satisfaction with the year’s performance, stating, “I am delighted to report on our performance for the year ended 31 December 2024. Despite the global economic headwinds, the Ugandan economy demonstrated commendable resilience. This was a year of significant progress for Centenary Bank Uganda, marked by strong growth across key metrics, including customer deposits, customer loans, profit after tax and total assets.”
Solid Financial Growth
In 2024, Centenary Bank’s profit after tax rose from UGX 297.1 billion in 2023 to UGX 342.3 billion in 2024, representing a 15.2% increase .
The loan book expanded from UGX 3.29 trillion to UGX 3.72 trillion, reflecting a 13.0% growth.
Total assets rose from UGX 6.33 trillion to UGX 7.11 trillion, a 12.3% increase.
Investments increased from UGX 1.86 trillion to UGX 2.2 trillion, growing by 18.2%, while customer deposits moved up from UGX 4.08 trillion to UGX 4.21 trillion, a 3.3% growth.
Commenting on the quality of the portfolio, Kasi highlighted, “From a financial performance perspective, profit after tax increased by 15.2%, closing at Shs 342.3 billion, mainly due to sound credit underwriting practices that the team has perfected returning good loan quality with a Non Performing Ratio of 2.6%, on top of increased prudence in cost management at a cost income ratio of 63.7%.”
The Bank’s operating income rose by 8.5%, climbing from UGX 903.8 billion in 2023 to UGX 980.4 billion in 2024 . This growth was driven primarily by a 10.9% increase in interest income on loans and advances, which rose from UGX 668.2 billion to UGX 741.6 billion, reflecting strong expansion in the loan portfolio.
Additionally, income from marketable securities grew by 22.1%, from UGX 151.2 billion in 2023 to UGX 184.6 billion in 2024, supported by better yields on government and private sector securities. Foreign exchange income also increased by 20.7%, rising from UGX 26.1 billion to UGX 31.6 billion, reflecting greater trading activity and favorable currency movements.
Fee and commission income remained stable at around UGX 187 billion, providing a steady stream of non-funded revenue even as the bank pushed deeper into digital banking channels.
Importantly, the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio improved, decreasing from approximately 2.8% in 2023 to 2.6%in 2024.
Mission-Critical Focus and Expanding Access
Centenary Bank continued to advance its financial inclusion mission, particularly through the growth of mission-critical portfolios.
The agricultural loan portfolio expanded from UGX 379 billion to UGX 448.8 billion, representing an 18.4% growth, benefiting over 50,501 smallholder farmers.
The microfinance loan book grew from UGX 432 billion to UGX 539.3 billion, a 24.8% increase, and SME lendinggrew to UGX 423.5 billion.
“The total mission-critical portfolio comprised 37.0% of our loan portfolio reflecting our commitment to sustainable and meaningful financial inclusion interventions,” Kasi emphasized.
Moreover, the Bank’s adoption of digital channels recorded significant strides during the year. The number of active agents increased by 5.3%, reflecting expanded reach and accessibility across the country. The number of active CenteMobile users grew by 14.0%, driven by greater smartphone penetration and the growing preference for mobile financial services.
Additionally, the Bank registered an impressive 30.3% increase in internet banking users, highlighting the success of its efforts to simplify and enhance digital customer experiences.Transactions through agent banking accounted for 51% of total customer activity, followed by mobile banking (18%), ATMs (17%), and banking halls (13%).
“Our expanding digital footprint has enabled us to create meaningful impact and transform lives by extending our services to rural communities and reaching vulnerable groups within the areas we operate,” noted Kasi.
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Beyond its financial achievements, Centenary Bank made significant progress in advancing its sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda during 2024. The Bank reaffirmed its commitment to ESG principles by aligning its operations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Uganda’s National Development Plan III.
In 2024, Centenary Bank piloted a carbon emissions measurement program, laying the groundwork for a comprehensive carbon audit exercise planned for 2025. Through collaboration with PROPARCO, the Bank strengthened its Environmental and Social Management System, aligning its risk assessment tools for credit transactions with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) performance standards.
Centenary Bank’s environmental efforts yielded tangible results. The Bank successfully recycled 4,000 tons of paper during the year, contributing to the conservation of natural resources. Additionally, it planted more than 41,000 trees across various parts of Uganda, bringing the cumulative number of trees planted by the Bank to over 70,000.
On the social front, Centenary Bank continued to expand financial inclusion, reaching previously unbanked and underserved groups through its agent banking platform, digital channels, and tailored financial products. As a result, the Bank registered 1,067,871 youth—accounting for 33.4% of its customer base—alongside 1,427,893 women and 7,509 refugees.
Demonstrating its community commitment, the Bank allocated 1% of its previous year’s net profit to fund 733 community initiatives worth over UGX 2.9 billion. In the area of governance, Centenary Bank reinforced its cybersecurity framework by scaling up its operations and maintaining an active anti-fraud campaign.
Cementing its global leadership in values-based banking, Centenary Bank was honored to host the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, which brought together 76 member banks from around the world. The event, successfully convened in March 2025, was held under the theme “Building Resilient Futures: Lessons from Africa and Values-Based Banking.”
Awards and Recognition
In 2024, Centenary Bank received several awards in recognition of its performance and initiatives across various areas of banking and financial services.
The Bank was named Best Bank in Uganda by the Global Finance Best Bank Awards. It also received the AFAWA Bank of the Year award for supporting women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
At the Africa Bank 4.0 Awards 2024, Centenary Bank was recognized as the Best Bank in Financial Inclusion (East Africa). In addition, Brand Africa named Centenary Bank the Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Uganda and the Most Admired Brand for “Doing Good for People, Society, and the Environment”.
The Bank received a Gold Award for Financial Inclusion Excellence and a Diamond Award for Community and Microfinance Innovation at the 2024 Digital Impact Awards Africa.
In the People’s Choice Awards, Centenary Bank was recognized as the Best Commercial Bank. The Bank also received the Overall Excellence Award from ABI Finance for its work in promoting green and inclusive agribusiness finance.
Centenary Bank was further named Overall Winner at the Corporate League 2024.
Strategic Outlook for 2025
Looking ahead, Centenary Bank is focused on executing its strategic objectives under its new 5-year plan. The strategy prioritizes balance sheet optimization, non-funded income growth, expanded outreach, enhanced risk management, and deeper digitization.
“In 2025, the Bank will focus on executing strategic objectives from its 5-year plan, prioritizing balance sheet optimization, risk management, non-funded income growth, cost efficiency, mission-critical portfolios (microfinance, SME, agriculture), outreach expansion, business transformation through innovation and digitization, project management, staff engagement, and sustainability,” Kasi affirmed.
Key outreach expansions planned for 2025 include the opening of five new rural branches, the installation of fourteen offsite ATMs and two cash deposit machines, and the onboarding of 2,000 additional CenteAgents to strengthen the Bank’s agent banking network.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and my colleagues, I express my heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed customers, stakeholders, and partners for their trust in ‘Our Bank.’ Together, we look forward to making 2025 a year of shared growth and success,” Kasi concluded.