Governor of the Bank of Uganda, at the Official Listing of Bonus Shares at the Uganda Securities Exchange, Kampala, 7 June 2013.
The Global Chairman & Managing Director, Bank of Baroda & Guest of Honour – Mr. S. S. Mundra Governing Council Members, Uganda Securities Exchange, Chief Executive Officer, Capital Markets Authority, Chairman and Board of Directors, Bank of Baroda (U) Ltd, Dignitaries and invited guests in your respective capacities, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning
It gives me great pleasure to be the Chief Guest on the occasion of the Official Listing of the Bonus Shares of the Bank of Baroda (Uganda) Ltd. I would like to commend the Board and the management of Bank of Baroda for their foresight in issuing bonus shares to facilitate the increase in the bank’s paid up capital, as well as for their continued good stewardship of the bank.
The Bank of Uganda raised the minimum paid up capital requirement for banks, from Shs 4 billion in 2011 to Shs 25 billion. The motivation for the increase was both to strengthen the capital base of banks and to bring our minimum paid up capital requirement closer to those of our partners in the East African Community. Most of the banks operating in Uganda already had a capital base, in terms of total shareholders’ funds, which exceeded Shs 25 billion prior to the statutory increase in paid up capital coming into effect (which for banks already operating in Uganda, was March of this year).