dfcu Bank’s Executive team led by CEO, Charles Mudiwa (3rd from left in the back row), staff, and partners gathered at the bank’s Head Office in Nakasero on April 1, 2025, for the FY2024/2025 Financial Results Announcement. The bank reaffirmed its commitment to leveraging technology and strengthening its systems to enhance digital banking solutions in Uganda.
Dfcu Limited recorded a strong financial performance for the year ended 31 December 2024, with Profit After Tax growing by 157% to Shs72bn in 2024, up from Shs28bn in 2023. This translated into an increase in earnings per share of Shs96.35, up from Shs38.39 in 2023.
Regarding tax contribution, dfcu paid Shs100bn in taxes in 2024 from Shs98.9bn in 2023.
As a result of this impressive performance, dfcu shareholders will soon be smiling to the bank after the company proposed dividends per share of Shs20.9 in 2024 from Shs9.10 in 2023.
According to the lender’s financial results released on Tuesday at the company’s headquarters in Kampala, the strong performance was mainly driven by the company’s major trading entity, dfcu Bank.
Charles Mudiwa, the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director at dfcu bank, noted that dfcu’s total assets grew by 9.5% to Shs3.4 trillion in 2024, up from Shs3.1 trillion recorded a year earlier.
He added the bank’s Non-Performing Assets (NPA) ratio reduced remarkably to 4.4% in 2024, down from 9.5% in 2023. This is after Non-Performing Loans reduced to Shs51.8bn in 2024, up from Shs108.17bn in 2023.
“In 2024, we moved from writing off to actually writing back,” he said, “We recovered Shs12 billion.”
The results show that three years ago, the bank’s NPA ratio stood at 16% before reducing to 9.5% and 4.4% in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Explaining further on factors behind the sharp fall in NPLs, Rebecca Birungi, the Acting Chief Financial Officer at dfcu bank, said the bank’s continued rehabilitation of Non-Performing Loans, increased monitoring and following up on recoveries have been key in cleaning the bank’s loan book.
As a result, loans advanced to customers grew by 1% to Shs1.13 trillion in 2024, from Shs1.12 trillion in 2023.
“The bank had selective lending with a focus the SME portfolio, which are short term and have smaller ticket size of facilities,” Birungi said, adding that customer deposits grew by 2% to Shs2.35 trillion from Shs2.31 trillion in 2023.
Tactical leadership pays off
Mudiwa also attributed the impressive performance to strategic leadership with clear plans.
When Mudiwa took over as Managing Director of dfcu bank in April 2023, he came up with the “Fired Up” strategy that ushered in a new top leadership team and a new culture. It is this tactical change that is beginning to bear results after the bank endured five tough years.
Mudiwa, whose experience in banking is close to 30 years, has a strong business leadership and is known for turning around businesses and increasing business profitability. He took over the leadership of the Bank at a critical time as it implemented enhanced customer-obsessed strategy to transform lives and businesses with innovative solutions and empowered people.
Explaining how the new leadership team has been able to turn the bank’s performance around in a short period, Mudiwa said: “You start with a strategy, then you need a structure to deliver the strategy and then look for the right people to fit in the structure that you have created. We went through the same process. We came up with a strategy called “Fired Up” and created a structure and identified the people that go with that structure to deliver the strategy. This team comes from all over; it’s a blend of international and local experiences. I call it ‘Glocal’. They also come from different industries; they aren’t necessarily all bankers. We have people with a variety of experiences and exposure to deliver the strategy. It was intentional.”
Mudiwa says being the first full year of implementation of the bank’s “Fired Up” strategy, they have successfully concluded refocusing and re-organizing the organization, which involved strategic alignment, business reorganization and operational streamlining.
“We are prioritizing key sectors and focusing on customer relationship,” Mudiwa said, adding that Culture and Talent Development is another key pillar the company is focusing on.
“A culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous learning, and customer-centricity was embedded in the Bank. Strategic hires and well-deserved internal promotions ensured alignment with our long-term vision,” he said.
Mudiwa added that the bank is leveraging technology to drive digital banking excellence.
“We upgraded our ATM and Card management platforms which enhanced our customers’ digital experience, making banking faster, safer, and more seamless,” he said.
Out of the woods
On why loans advanced to customers and customer deposits numbers are yet to grow impressively, Mudiwa said they had to do things the right way, noting that a foundation has now been laid to drive growth in 2025 and beyond.
“We started by refocusing the business, we went on to reorganize the business and we are now in the process of transforming the business. Are we there yet? The train is in the right direction,” he said, adding: “We had to make sure we have cleaned up our loan book. You can’t start growing a business when leakages are happening all over, the first thing you do is to stop the bleeding, you fix it and then grow. Last year was about fixing the business. We are now out of the woods and ready to grow further. Our aim is to be among the top five most profitable banks in Uganda.”
He added that customers have strong faith in dfcu.
“Customers responded to us more positively, with over 20 basis points. They used the bank more by transacting more. Our customers showed more faith and belief in us by using us more, with online transactions increasing by over 37%,” Mudiwa said.
He says the bank is now stable and their focus in 2025 is to grow the business.
“We remain dedicated to delivering innovative solutions, fostering financial inclusion, and ensuring that our people, customers, and communities thrive,” he said.
