Equity Bank Uganda increased its loans and customer deposits in the first quarter of 2026, even as the Bank of Uganda moved to tighten liquidity in the financial sector.
Figures released in Equity Group Holdings Plc’s investor briefing show that the bank’s net loans rose by 5% over the year, reaching about Shs 1.42 trillion by the end of March. Customer deposits climbed 6% to Shs 2.76 trillion, while the bank’s total assets grew 16% to Shs 3.76 trillion.
The growth came despite the central bank raising its cash reserve ratio from 9.5% to 11% in the second quarter, a move designed to tighten liquidity and support the shilling. The Central Bank Rate (CBR) was held at 9.75%.
The tightening pushed up the cost of borrowing money for the bank itself. Equity Bank Uganda’s cost of funds rose to 5.4% from 4.8% a year earlier, while its net interest margin fell to 8.4% from 9.2%.
Lending rates in the wider Ugandan market stood at 18.7% in February, compared with 12.3% for 364-day treasury bills.
There was better news on the quality of the bank’s loan book. Non-performing loans fell sharply, from 13.6% of the total a year ago to 7.1% by the end of the quarter, tracking a broader improvement in the sector, where bad loans fell to 3.24% by December.
Commenting on the group’s wider performance, Equity Group managing director and chief executive officer Dr James Mwangi said the results reflected “the success of our deliberate transformation into a diversified, regional, technology-led financial services Group.”
Equity Bank Uganda is one of six banking subsidiaries in the Equity Group, which reported a group-wide profit after tax of Shs 548 billion for the quarter, up 24% from a year earlier.
