Uganda - Apply for License to Transact Financial Institutions Business as Discount House

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. The application for License to transact or carry a financial institution business as Discount House shall be made in writing to the central bank of Uganda. find their website on the following link Bank of Uganda
   • The Act states that a company proposing to transact or carry on business as a financial institution business as Discount House shall apply, in writing, to the Central Bank for a License.
   • The Act specifies the License to Transact Financial Institutions Business of Discount House as a Class 7 License.
2. Applicants are required to collect and complete the prescribed application form, obtainable at Bank of Uganda head office.
3. Submit the completed form in all respect and all the relevant documents to the Bank of Uganda. Any omission of the supporting documents will render the application process incomplete.
   • The law States that no person shall operate Discount House without a valid license, as the case may be, granted by the Authority
4. Upon receipt of the application file, the central bank receiving officer will verify if all the information and documentation are in order, before registering the application to be forwarded for assessment, processing, and consideration by the Central Bank Licensing Board.
5. The central bank licensing board shall, within 6 months of receipt of an application, investigate and prepare a detailed report in respect of the application.
6. During the assessment process the Central Bank shall be guided by the following principles:
   • Whether the new established discount House will bring any benefits to the national economy and to consumers in the financial sector.
   • Whether the applicant can provide financial services in respect of which the license application is made, in a safe and sustainable manner.
7. If, after receipt of the application, the Central Bank is of the opinion that it requires further information to assess the application, the Central Bank may, within 21 days from the date of receipt of the application and by written notice, request for further information from the applicant or third parties, as may be identified by the Central Bank, and the notice shall:
   • Specify the information required from the applicant.
   • Where applicable, notify referees of the application and invite comments from them.
   • Specify the time within which the information or comments shall be submitted to the Central Bank.
   • Specify the date by which the Central Bank intends to make a final decision on the application.
8. The Authority shall consider an application and inform the applicant of its decision within 45 days after the application has been lodged, and where further information has been required, the 45 days shall start to run form the time of submission of the additional information.
9. The Authority shall notify the applicant, in writing, of its decision Within forty five days after the afore-mentioned period, the Central Bank shall grant or refuse to grant the application and where the Central Bank decides not to issue the license, it shall state the reasons in such notice.
10. If approved, the Central Bank will inform the applicant within 7 days of making its decision and request the applicant to pay the prescribed license fee and collect the Discount House License.
11. The license shall be subjected to terms and conditions as the Central Bank deem fit. The licensee shall also be subjected to supervision and monitoring by the Central Bank.

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Required Documents

1. Application form fully filled is required to process a discount house license.
2. Memorandum and articles of association should be attached on the application.
3. Certificate of incorporation should be attached on the application.
4. Business plan complying with the requirements of regulation 46(d)(authorized securities dealers) of the central Bank (Licensing Requirements) (General) Regulations.
5. A statement of the un-audited accounts for the period of accounting year ending not earlier than six months prior to the date of application and audited annual accounts for the preceding two years (in the case of application of license), management accounts up to the 30th November and audited annual accounts for the preceding year (in the case of renewal of license)
6. A declaration by the directors as to whether after due inquiry by them in relation to the interval between the date to which the last accounts have been made and a date not earlier than fourteen days before the date of the application
   • the business of the company has, in their opinion, been satisfactorily maintained
   • there have, in their opinion, arisen any circumstances adversely affecting the company’s trading or value of its assets
   • there are any contingent liabilities by reason of any guarantees given by the company or any of its subsidiaries
   • there are, since the last annual accounts, any changes in published reserves or any unusual factors affecting the profit of the company or any of its subsidiaries.
7. A copy of the bank guarantee to be lodged with the securities exchange or the central depository (where applicable).
8. A declaration by persons authorized as prescribed to accompany the application form;

Office Locations & Contacts

Bank of Uganda - HEAD OFFICE,
Physical Address:Plot 37/45
Kampala Road
Kampala, Uganda
Postal Address: P.O Box 7120,
Kampala, Uganda
Telex: 61059
Telephone numbers: +256-414-258-441/6
Fax: + 256-41-4230878 , +256-41-4233818
Email: [email protected]
Website Link

Eligibility

• Any person is eligible to make an application to run a financial institution as a Discount house in Uganda.
• This application allows a person to operate a financial institution as Discount House in Uganda.
• In Uganda no person shall, operate a financial institution as a Discount House in Uganda unless authorized by Central Bank.

Fees

Application fee:

• The license fee required to process a discount house license for Banks is - 1,000,000 USh.
• The License fee required for processing a discount house license for Non-bank - 500,000 USh.

Annual License Fees:

• Fee prescribed from year to year by the Central Bank by notice.

Validity

• The license is Valid for a period of 12 months

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• The Maximum processing time to process this license is 14 days.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• All applicant for financial institution to operate a discount house must register with Central Bank , and be familiar with the rules relating to the Financial institution practice in Uganda

Required Information

• Name of applicant
• Head/ Main office
• Physical and postal address of head office/ proposed acceptance house.
• Date of incorporation
• Form of incorporation
• Description of the applicants business or functions
• Certificate of incorporation Number
• Details of subsidiaries and affiliates (Name of Outlet, County, City/Town, Street, Building, Date opened)
• Particulars of shareholders (Name, Nationality, Date of acquisition, Amount of shareholding, % of shareholding)
• Particulars of directors (Name, Nationality, Date of appointment, Level of education)
• Particulars of the officers in the order of seniority (Name, Designation, Nationality, Date of appointment)
• Ownership profiles
• Shareholding in any other financial institution
• Name of applicants external auditors
• Declaration

Need for the Document

• The applicant need this document in order to legally establish a financial institution as discount house in Uganda.

Information which might help

1. Every financial institution as discount house shall ensure that the Central Bank is notified of every proposed appointment of a director.
2. Notification shall be accompanied by the chairperson’s declaration.
3. A person intending to become a director of a financial institution as a discount House shall notify the Central Bank in writing of his or her proposed appointment by submitting a personal declaration form.
4. Every financial institution shall submit a personal declaration form for each subsequent proposed director.
5. A proposed director shall not assume any duties in a financial institution as discount house without approval of his or her appointment by the Central Bank.
   • The applicant shall ensure that there are no factors, such as unavailability or inadequacy of information and lack of transparency, which may hinder the conduct of investigations after the submission of its application or inhibit effective supervision after the issuance of a license.
   • The applicant shall include detailed financial projections which demonstrate medium-term viability and sufficient information on the financial resources of the founders to support the institution;
   • The applicant shall describe how the institution is to be organized and controlled internally and shall include a description of comprehensive risk management systems for credit, liquidity, foreign exchange, interest rate, operational and other risks; and
   • The Applicant shall disclose the applicant’s current and contemplated future policy with regard to the payment of dividends

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

• External Link 1
• External Link2
• External Link 3
• External Link 4

Others

More information which might help people.