Centenary Bank today unveiled its 2025 full-year financial results, reporting a record profit after tax of UGX 424.2 billion, a 23.9% increase from UGX 342.3 billion posted in 2024.

The performance, audited by Price waterhouse Coopers and approved by the Board of Directors on 12 March 2026, cements the bank’s position as Uganda’s leading microfinance-oriented commercial bank and a critical engine of inclusive economic development.

The results reflect sustained growth across every major financial metric, driven by a disciplined credit culture, a rapidly expanding agent banking network, and a deepening commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles all anchored in the bank’s four-decade mission of transforming lives in Uganda’s underserved communities

Financial Performance: Record Growth Across the Board

Centenary Bank’s 2025 income statement reflects the strength of a diversified, mission-driven business model. Total income rose from UGX 1.217 trillion in 2024 to UGX 1.474 trillion in 2025, a 21.1% increase, while net profit before tax climbed from UGX 443.0 billion to UGX 560.6 billion, a 26.5% increase.

Interest income on loans and advances, the bank’s core revenue line  rose to UGX 830.2 billion from UGX 741.6 billion in 2024, reflecting 11.9% growth in the loan book. Fee and commission income expanded by 21.4% to UGX 227.0 billion, driven by growing transaction volumes through digital and agent channels.

The bank’s contribution to the national fiscus grew substantially, with tax payments rising 35.3% to UGX 136.3 billion, and total tax revenue of UGX 246.75 billion contributed to the Government of Uganda in the year

Balance Sheet: A Fortress of Growth

The bank’s balance sheet expanded materially across all dimensions in 2025, underscoring robust asset generation, strong deposit mobilization and well-capitalized growth.

Total assets crossed UGX 8.6 trillion for the first time, a 21.0% jump from UGX 7.1 trillion in 2024.

Customer deposits surged 25.1% to UGX 5.27 trillion, the sharpest deposit growth rate in recent memory reflecting the trust that over 3.4 million customers have placed in the institution.

The net loan book grew 11.9% to UGX 4.16 trillion, maintaining a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2.94%, evidence of sound underwriting standards despite an increasingly competitive lending environment.

Shareholders’ equity grew 18.4% to UGX 1.85 trillion, building a strong capital foundation ahead of the planned core banking system upgrade in 2026. The bank’s core capital to risk-weighted assets ratio stood at 28.6%, well above regulatory minimums, while total qualifying capital to RWA was 29.5%.

Financial Inclusion: Serving Uganda’s Real Economy

The 2025 results are not merely a story of financial returns, they are a story of people. At the heart of Centenary Bank’s strategy is its Mission Critical Portfolio (MCP): a structured commitment to financing the segments of society that conventional banks have historically overlooked.

Of the bank’s 3.4 million active customers, 2.39 million representing 77.6% of the customer base belong to underserved communities, including smallholder farmers, women, refugees, youth and rural micro-entrepreneurs. This is not an ancillary outcome; it is the deliberate architecture of the bank’s business model.

Women remained a priority demographic. The bank disbursed loans to 118,766 women entrepreneurs, representing 38.8% of all borrowers, through targeted programmes including Supawoman, Grow, and the National Youth Venture Capital Fund. In agribusiness, the bank financed 58,519 smallholder farmers despite the structural barrier of limited land collateral — a persistent challenge in rural Uganda that the bank has specifically designed its credit products to overcome.

Agent banking continued its role as the primary vehicle for rural inclusion, with over 9,000 touch points processing 49% of all bank transactions. Complementing this, 122,833 microfinance clients were served — 29,633 of them through digital loan channels, reflecting growing affordability and convenience for low-income households. Linkage banking reached a further 89,893 clients through VSLAs and SACCOs, while 2,652 beneficiaries in Yumbe and Arua were supported through the DREAMS Project in fragile, refugee-hosting settings.

Environmental, Social & Governance Performance

In 2025, Centenary Bank commenced formal greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting across Scopes 1, 2 and part of Scope 3 emissions, in line with the global GHG Protocol, a landmark step in the bank’s environmental governance journey.

Total operational emissions fell 6.3% year-on-year to 6,734.53 tCO₂e — from 7,188.31 tCO₂e in 2024, achieved through the transition of ten branches (Adjumani, Kitgum, Kalongo, Moroto, Kihihi, Kanungu, Bwera, Kumi, Buliisa and Kotido) to solar energy and enhanced energy efficiency management. This is part of a long-term pathway toward net zero operations.

On the environmental restoration front, the bank planted 69,729 indigenous trees in partnership with national and community institutions, restoring over 170 acres of degraded land. Centenary Bank’s 2030 restoration target of at least 2,000 acres reflects a level of environmental ambition rare among Ugandan financial institutions.

Circular waste management was also launched at headquarters, with plans to scale to branches in 2026 and achieve 40% waste recycling by 2030.

Green finance grew rapidly. The bank disbursed 1,904 green loans worth over UGX 16 billion across clean energy, water, sanitation and climate-smart agriculture including solar irrigation, power connection loans, e-mobility financing, and WASH products. UGX 29 billion was disbursed under the GROW Project at subsidized interest rates, enabling women-led enterprises to formalize and access markets.

From a governance standpoint, the bank enhanced its Environmental and Social Risk Assessment (ESRA) procedures, aligning them with IFC Performance Standards. Whistleblower protections were strengthened, and ESG principles were embedded more deeply into board oversight and management decision-making. Gender diversity remained a strength: women account for 49% of total staff and 30% of management, and employee turnover held at just 5.8%.

Outlook: Strategic Priorities for 2026

Centenary Bank enters 2026 from a position of financial strength, institutional trust and strategic clarity. Key priorities include:

• Successful implementation of a new core banking system by end of Q2 2026, which is expected to improve operational efficiency, customer experience and data infrastructure.
• Continued expansion of the Mission Critical Portfolio, with a focus on agribusiness, women-led enterprise, and digital financial services for low-income populations.
• Alignment with the Government of Uganda’s Ten-Fold Growth Agenda — particularly in expanding access to finance, strengthening enterprise development, and supporting productivity in agriculture, microfinance and SMEs.
• Scaling the bank’s environmental commitments — including branch-level waste recycling programmes and continued progress toward its 2,000-acre land restoration target by 2030.

Attracting additional sustainable and blended finance from international partners to channel capital toward green and social impact projects across Uganda