Bank of Uganda downgrades GTBank from Tier-1 commercial bank to Tier-2 credit institution

Guaranty Trust Bank (Uganda) Ltd. (“GTBank Uganda”) on Thursday announced plans to transition from Tie-one commercial bank to a Tier-two credit institution.

Mr Jubril Adeniji, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Kenya and Head of the East African region made the announcement in a statement on Thursday.

Adeniji said the move was necessary in view of the bank’s current paid-up share capital position of UGX 41 billion, which is approximately 11.02 million U.S. dollars.

He added that it included a recent increase in the minimum paid-up share capital requirement for Tier-one commercial banks operating in Uganda to approximately 32.26 million U.S. dollar effective December 31, 2022, and subsequently $40.32 million by June 30.

In November 2022, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in conjunction with the Central Bank of Uganda prescribed new thresholds for minimum paid-up share capital unimpaired by losses for Supervised Financial Institutions (SFIs) in Uganda.

He said after extensive engagements with all stakeholders, including regulators and shareholders, the bank believes it took the right decision considering global economic realities and alignment with the objectives of its holding company.

According to him, the vision was to direct resources to opportunities in alignment with our current strategy of evolving the Guaranty Trust brand to a full-fledged financial services group.

“Continuing operations as a Tier-two credit institution is within the bank’s current capital base and will allow us play to our core strengths in retail and SME banking.

“As we make this transition, we will continue to review our positioning within the Ugandan banking sector in line with our objective of maximizing shareholder value.”

“As a group, we are confident of Uganda’s trajectory as a country and remain committed to championing growth and expanding innovative financial services across Africa.

“We will continue to explore viable opportunities in both existing and new business verticals that guarantee the best use of available capital,” Adeniji said.

He said the bank had carried out thorough review of its existing customer base and put adequate measures in place to continue to meet their banking needs.

He added that this was pending final regulatory approvals and further directives by the relevant parties.

“We expect the transition to be seamless and commit to continuing compliance with all guidelines and best practice throughout the change process,” he said.