Bank of Baroda Uganda appoints Chandan Singh as new managing director

Bank of Baroda Uganda has appointed Shashi Dhar as its new managing director, signaling a strategic focus on digital transformation and credit expansion within the country’s Tier-I banking sector.

Dhar takes the helm at a period of significant growth for the lender. Under the preceding leadership of Raj Kumar Meena, the bank reported a substantial 18.7 percent increase in net profit for the 2023 financial year, reaching 145.6 billion shillings. This trajectory has been driven largely by a 14.3 percent rise in interest income, underpinned by an aggressive expansion in lending to the manufacturing and trade sectors.

A career banker with over two decades of experience within the Baroda Group, Dhar is expected to accelerate the bank’s transition toward an integrated digital ecosystem. The institution has already seen a 22 percent uptick in mobile and internet banking transactions, a trend Dhar is tasked with scaling to reduce operational overhead and improve the cost-to-income ratio, which currently sits at approximately 45 percent.

The appointment comes as the Uganda Securities Exchange listed bank seeks to deepen its footprint in the Small and Medium Enterprise segment. Analysts suggest that Dhar’s tenure will likely focus on leveraging the bank’s robust capital adequacy ratio, which remains well above the central bank’s regulatory requirements, to support long-term infrastructure and agricultural projects.

Industry peers view this leadership transition as a move toward stability and continuity. Bank of Baroda remains one of the most efficient players in the Ugandan market, maintaining a high return on equity while navigating a volatile macroeconomic environment characterized by fluctuating inflationary pressures.

The bank’s strategic pivot under Dhar is also expected to include an emphasis on the bob World digital platform, aiming to convert a larger portion of its 2.1 trillion shilling deposit base into active digital users.