{"id":122667,"date":"2026-04-22T09:01:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:20:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:20:06","slug":"uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact","title":{"rendered":"Uganda Bankers Association Warns of Bill’S Banking Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) has issued a stark warning to government, asserting that the proposed Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, could cripple the country\u2019s investment climate and derail the ambitious ATMS strategy aimed at expanding the economy tenfold to $500 billion by 2040.<\/b><\/p>\n

In a formal memorandum addressed to the Attorney General, the banking industry expressed \u201cgrave concerns\u201d over provisions that classify financial institutions as \u201cagents of foreigners\u201d and impose strict caps on foreign funding.<\/p>\n

The bankers argue that the bill, in its current form, poses an existential risk to the sector by criminalizing standard financial operations and introducing a \u201cparallel regulatory regime\u201d under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.<\/p>\n

The crux of the bankers\u2019 concern lies in the Bill\u2019s broad definitions. Under the draft law, any entity \u201cfinanced or subsidized\u201d by a foreigner is labeled an \u201cagent of a foreigner.\u201d<\/p>\n

This would potentially include all foreign-owned banks operating in Uganda, as well as any local institutions that rely on international correspondent banking lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe threshold for foreign funding is extremely low\u2014approximately shs 400 million (about $107,000) relative to typical bank transactions,\u201d said Wilbrod Humphreys Owor, Executive Director of the UBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cVirtually all foreign capital inflows to banks would require prior ministerial approval, introducing bureaucratic costs and uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill further provides that funds received without written ministerial consent must be forfeited to the State. The UBA warns that this would create a chilling effect on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) required to meet the Bank of Uganda\u2019s minimum capital requirements.<\/p>\n

Financial leaders are particularly alarmed by Clause 25, which requires banks to verify ministerial authorization before processing payments for any \u201cagent of a foreigner.\u201d Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to shs 4 billion.<\/p>\n

UBA argues that this provision bypasses the existing authority of the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) and the Bank of Uganda.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Bill creates a parallel, potentially conflicting regime,\u201d the memorandum reads. \u201cThe obligation to verify ministerial authorization before processing payments creates operational delays and exposes institutions to liability for processing errors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the \u201cEconomic Sabotage\u201d clause\u2014which criminalizes acts deemed to weaken the economic system\u2014has raised concerns that routine analyst reports or investor briefings highlighting sovereign risk could be interpreted as criminal conduct.<\/p>\n

To safeguard the economy, the banking industry has proposed urgent amendments, including an explicit carve-out for all financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank and the Capital Markets Authority.<\/p>\n

UBA recommends affirming that the Bank of Uganda remains the sole regulatory authority for the banking sector, significantly raising limits for foreign funding or granting exemptions for regulated banking activities, and aligning the framework with the existing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime instead of introducing overlapping reporting obligations under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.<\/p>\n

The bankers’ association noted that without these changes, the law could inadvertently sever Uganda\u2019s correspondent banking relationships with the global financial system, ultimately constraining private sector credit expansion and undermining the country\u2019s 2040 vision.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) has issued a stark warning to government, asserting that the proposed Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, could cripple the country\u2019s investment climate and derail the ambitious ATMS strategy aimed at expanding the economy tenfold to $500 billion by 2040. In a formal memorandum addressed to the Attorney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":122665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-122667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nUganda Bankers Association Warns of Bill'S Banking Impact - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) has issued a stark warning to government, asserting that the proposed Protection ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uganda Bankers Association Warns of Bill'S Banking Impact\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) has issued a stark warning to government, asserting that the proposed Protection ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T09:01:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T09:20:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776836933.496692.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Uganda Bankers Association Warns of Bill’S Banking Impact\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-22T09:01:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-22T09:20:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact\"},\"wordCount\":508,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776836933.496692.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/uganda-bankers-association-warns-of-bills-banking-impact\",\"name\":\"Uganda Bankers Association Warns of Bill'S Banking Impact - 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