Housing Finance Bank
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 HFB: Shilling to gain some ground The Uganda shilling is expected to recover some ground against the dollar as the demand for the greenback from both corporate companies and traders slows down, analysts have said.The shilling has traded at its weakest points, swinging between Shs 2,710 and Shs 2,770, losing more than seven per cent of its value against the dollar. Robert Mpuga, a chief forex trader at Housing Finance bank, told The Observer, that huge demand for the dollar from telecom firms, energy and manufacturing sector had put pressure on the local currency.He added that government had released a lot of money to its contractors in infrastructure, including roads.Read more ▪ Housing Finance bank has received EuroS 13m (about Shs 45bn) to lend to small and medium firms after signing an agreement with the European Investment bank (EIB).The money, according to HFB, will go to those people engaged in the manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism sectors. It would be borrowed both in Uganda shilling and US dollars.While signing an MOU with EIB officials at HFB headquarters in Kololo, the managing director of HFB, Mathias Katamba, said they would target businesses that have found it hard to access credit because of their small size or being unable to design bankable projects."If you look at the kinds of funds available on the market, banks can hardly lend long-term to customers. But with this money, we can be able to translate [long-term finance]," Katamba said.Under this credit line, both existing and new customers for HFB are eligible to apply for the loans. Read more ▪ |