Banking in Uganda

Before Uganda's independence in 1962, the main banks in Uganda were Barclays (UK based); Grindlays (also UK), Standard Bank (South Africa based) and the Bank of Baroda from India. The currency was issued by the East African Currency Board, a London-based body. In 1966, the Bank of Uganda (BoU), which controlled the issue of currency and managed foreign exchange reserves, became the central bank and national banking regulator. The government-owned Uganda Commercial Bank and the Uganda Development Bank were launched in the 1960s. The Uganda Development Bank is a state-owned development finance institution, which channeled loans from international sources into Ugandan enterprises and administered most of the development loans made to Uganda.^[1]

The East African Development Bank (EADB), established in 1967, was jointly owned by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. It was also concerned with development finance. It survived the breakup of the East African Community in 1977 and received a new charter in 1980.^[1]

In the 1960s, other commercial banks included local operations of the Bank of Baroda, Barclays, the Bank of India, Grindlays Bank, Standard Chartered, and the Uganda Cooperative Bank.^[1] The Uganda government took majority shares in all commercial banks in 1969 as part of President Obote's "Move to the Left" policy. This was increased to 100 percent control when European and Asian business owners were expelled in 1972-75 under President Idi Amin.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the number of commercial bank branches and services contracted significantly. Whereas Uganda had 290 commercial bank branches in 1970, by 1987 there were only 84, of which 58 branches were operated by government-owned banks. This number began to increase slowly the following year, and in 1989 the gradual increase in banking activity signaled growing confidence in Uganda's economic recovery.^[1]