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Standard Bank Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL) has announced its first half results for 2024, with its main subsidiary Standard Bank Uganda Limited contributing the bulk of its net profit of UGX236 billion (about USD63 million), compared to UGX200 billion in the previous year’s half year.
Customer deposits grew 4.9% to UGX6.6 trillion in the six months to June 2024, while total loans reached UGX4.4 trillion, up 9.5% compared to the same period in 2023. SUHL is part of the Standard Bank Group and trades as Stanbic in Uganda.
“The banking subsidiary continues to be the backbone of our performance as our non-bank subsidiaries gain momentum in their growth trajectory and intensify our efforts to achieve our targets,” said SUHL chief executive officer Francis Karuhanga.
SUHL’s other subsidiaries include SBG Securities, Stanbic Properties Limited, fintech company Flyhub and Stanbic Business Incubator Limited, which provides capacity-building training for small business owners.
Kaluhanga said Standard Bank had delivered strong results on both the profit and loss account and balance sheet despite an increase in inflation in the first half of the year, which led the Bank of Uganda to increase its benchmark interest rate from 9.5% to 10.25% in December 2023. However, private sector credit growth of 6.6% remained below pre-COVID levels of more than 10%. Earlier this week, the Bank of Uganda cut its Central Bank Rate (CBR) to 10%.
“Our customer loan book grew by 9.5% and captured over 21% market share, while the off-balance sheet book grew by 17.5% to UGX2.2 trillion, capturing over 40% market share. More importantly, we have been focusing on supporting the growth of SMEs as they generate 70% of manufacturing output and create 90% of new jobs,” said Karuhanga.
Between January and June this year, the bank disbursed UGX127 billion to Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) at below market interest rates (10% to 12.2%). The bank also disbursed UGX100 billion in loans to women-owned businesses under the Stanbic4Her product line at a low interest rate of 15.5%.
“With total assets of 9.7 trillion Ugandan shillings (US$2.5 billion), up 3.8 percent from 9.4 trillion Ugandan shillings the previous year, we are better positioned to support major development projects and further boost economic growth,” Kaluhanga said.
Speaking about the bank’s efforts to promote financial inclusion through the FlexiPay mobile payment app, Karuhanga said: “FlexiPay currently has over 900,000 customers and is growing in terms of number and volume of transactions. Over time, FlexiPay will help us achieve our goal of driving financial inclusion in Uganda.”
During the reporting period, FlexiPay and Stanbic Bank agents conducted more than 7 million FlexiPay transactions totaling UGX14 trillion. “If the central bank continues to cut interest rates, we believe the economy will continue to grow as individuals and commercial borrowers take advantage of the rate cuts,” Karuhanga said.
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