Bank of Uganda Reveals Most Expensive, Affordable Banks

Bank of Uganda (BoU) has released interest rates and bank charges for personal accounts of Uganda’s 24 banks as at January1, 2018. This highlights the most expensive and affordable banks.

BoU said it is publishing these Commercial Bank Interest rates and charges to promote transparency and enhance competition in the provision of banking services.

“Bank customers who are being offered/charged differently from what is published are advised to report to Bank of Uganda,” BoU said, adding that revised rates will be published regularly.

Prime Lending Rate

If you are planning to acquire a loan, these Prime Lending Rates charged by banks will give you a tip on where to start from. Prime Lending Rates refers to the interest rate charged by banks to their largest, most secure, and most creditworthy customers. This rate is used as a guide for computing interest rates for other borrowers.

According to BoU, Commercial Bank of Africa Uganda (CBAU) offers the highest Prime Lending Rate (PLR) in the market at 23.5%. It is closely followed by Finance Trust Bank (FTB) at 23%.

On the other hand, Stanbic and Bank of India offer the lowest Prime Lending Rate in the market at 17.50% and 19% respectively.

Exim, Tropical, Diamond and ABC Capital are other expensive banks charging 22.5%.

Bank of Africa, Cairo, Equity and KCB are also quite expensive, charging 22%. NC Bank charges 21.5%, while Bank of Baroda, Centenary Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Housing Finance and Orient charge 21%.

Standard Chartered Bank, United Bank for Africa Uganda (UBAU) and dfcu are among those charging lower PLR at 20%. Barclays and Ecobank also charge moderately at 20.25% and 20.5% respectively.

Loan Application Fee

GTBank charges the highest loan application fee at Shs300,000-Shs500,000. It is followed by Bank of Africa that charges Shs65,000 for individuals and Shs125,000 for companies. ABC Capital and UBAU charge Shs50, 000 while Cairo charges Shs30,000-Shs50,000.

Standard Chartered, dfcu and  CBAU charge Shs20,000 while Centenary charges Shs20,000 for loans up to Shs30m and upwards it charges Shs50,000. Barclays charges Shs15,000.

Minimum Balances

When it comes to minimum balances for current accounts, Bank of Baroda requires higher amounts of Shs300,000 for Kampala, Mukono and Jinja branches and Shs200,000 for other upcountry branches.

Exim Bank also requires a minimum balance of Shs300,000. ABC Capital, Bank of India  and UBAU have a minimum balance of Shs50,000. Bank of Africa has a minimum balance of Shs5,000 while many others set their minimum balances for current accounts at Shs10,000. A few other don’t have minimum balances on current accounts.

On Savings account, Ecobank’s minimum balance is Shs100,000 while KCB,  CBAU, NC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have their minimum balances at Shs50,000. Finance Trust Bank has one of the lowest minimum balances for savings account at Shs2, 000 while Centenary, dfcu and Bank of Africa set theirs at Shs5, 000.

For fixed deposits, Diamond, Ecobank, Equity, Orient and UBAU have their minimum balances at Shs5m. Baroda set her minimum balance for fixed deposits at Shs100,000 while ABC Capital, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) have theirs at Shs500,000. Bank of Africa is at Shs2.5m while the remaining banks set their minimum balance for fixed deposits at Shs1m save for Centenary and NC Bank who don’t have minimum balances.

Cheque books

Businessmen can’t avoid cheque books. It is therefore important to know which bank charges what for better decision making.

Bank of Africa and Housing are the most expensive under this category. They charge Shs40, 000 for cheque book per leaf. Barclays charges Shs33, 000 for cheque book per leaf while Stanbic, Standard Chartered and UBAU charge Shs30, 000.

Orient, Exim, Tropical charge Shs10, 000 while Baroda charges Shs11, 000. Centenary, ABC Capital, Equity, GTBank charge Shs15, 000. CBAU, Ecobank, Finance Trust, KCB and NC Bank charge Shs20, 000 while dfcu and Diamond charge Shs25, 000.

For Counter cheque leaf, GTBank, Standard Chatered and UBAU charge the highest at Shs250, 000 while Barclays charges Shs200, 200.

These are followed by Diamond, Ecobank and Tropical at Shs200, 000.  Stanbic charges Shs185, 000.

Baroda charges the lowest at Shs82, 500. Bank of India, Centenary and Finance Trust Bank also charge moderately at Shs100, 000 while Bank of India charges between Shs55, 000- Shs110, 000.

ATM Withdrawals

A number of people lose a lot of money through ATM withdrawals. For ABC Capital customers, they have to lose Shs1, 500 whenever they withdraw money. Barclays charges Shs1,100 while NC Bank charges Shs1,000. Tropical and Finance Trust Bank are also among those charging highly at Shs800. GTBank charges Shs800-Shs1,000 while Housing Finance charges Shs700-Shs900. Other banks charge an average of Shs600 per withdrawal.