| Housing Finance Bank | |
| Type: | Private |
| Location: | Investment House 4 Wampewo Avenue Kololo, Kampala, Uganda[1] |
| Key People: | David Opiokello Chairman Michael Mugabi CEO[2] |
| Num Employees: | 309 (2022) |
| Assets: | UGX:2.14 trillion (US$569.641 million) (2023) |
| Revenue: | Aftertax:UGX:61.5 billion (US$16.37 million) (2023) |
| Industry: | Financial services |
| Products: | Loans, checking, savings, investments, debit cards, mortgages |
| Homepage: | Homepage |
Housing Finance Bank (HFB) is a commercial bank in Uganda. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by Bank of Uganda, the national banking regulator.[3]
HFB is a full service retail bank that is primarily involved in mortgage banking. Founded in 1967 as a housing finance company, HFB became a fully licensed commercial bank in January 2008, having acquired a commercial banking license from the Bank of Uganda. The bank is the leading mortgage lender in the country, with approximately 60 percent of all Ugandan mortgage accounts. On 31 December 2023, the bank's assets were USh2.14 trillion (US$569.641 million). The bank made an after-tax profit of USh65.1 billion (US$16.37 million) in 2023. At that time, core capital was USh273.8 billion (approx. US$72.9 million).[4]
In August 2017, the two largest shareholders in the bank, the Uganda government and NSSF Uganda, each contributed $8.2 million (for a total of $16.4 million) in fresh capital, to boost the bank's ability to lend to more mortgage borrowers and improve the lender's liquidity.[5]
HFB is owned by the Uganda National Social Security Fund (50.0 percent). The government of Uganda, through the Uganda Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, owns 49.18 percent. The remaining 0.82 percent is owned by the National Housing and Construction Company, a parastatal company jointly owned by the government of Uganda (51 percent) and the government of Libya (49 percent).[6]
HFB had planned to list its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange in 2012,[7] however, those plans were postponed.[8]
HFB maintains its corporate headquarters and main branch at its newly constructed headquarters building on Wampewo Avenue, on Kololo Hill. HFB's former main branch is located on Kampala Road.
Another branch within the Kampala central business district is located in Nakasero, across Nakasero Road from the Nigerian High Commission. There are two other branches in Kampala, one each in the suburbs of Namuwongo and Ntinda.
In February 2009, HFB opened a branch in Mbarara in western Uganda. In March 2009, HFB opened a branch in an area of Kampala known as Kikuubo.[9] In June 2009, HFB opened a branch in Mbale, promising at the opening ceremony to launch Internet banking and rural mobile banking later in 2009.[10] In July 2009, HFB opened a branch in Arua, its eighth in the country.[11]
As of December 2022, HFB maintained branches at the following locations:[4]
Housing Finance Bank is governed by a twelve-person board of directors of whom two are executive directors and ten are non-executive. The chairman of the board is David Opiokello, one of the non-executive directors.[13]
Nicholas Okwir was the founding managing director of HFB.[14] In April 2013, Mathias Katamba became managing director, succeeding the retiring Okwir. In October 2018, Katamba left and Michael Mugabi was named CEO in an acting capacity.[2] There are eleven other senior managers with whom the managing director supervises the daily activities of the bank.[15]