KAMPALA, UGANDA – As I&M Bank Uganda celebrates its 50th anniversary, Ketan Morjaria, founder of Orient Bank and Non-Executive Director at I&M Bank, has praised the merger between the two banks as a key milestone in the institution’s growth and innovation journey.

“The merger was a natural alignment of two banks sharing a common vision and values,” Morjaria said. “I&M Bank’s strategic ambition to expand across East Africa made it an ideal partner for us.”

The merger, approved in April 2021, saw I&M Group Plc acquire a majority stake in Orient Bank, creating a robust financial institution committed to delivering contemporary banking services founded on trust.

“Given I&M Bank and Orient Bank’s shared commitment to delivering contemporary banking services founded on trust, the alignment was natural,” Morjaria highlighted. “With I&M Group Plc’s strategic ambitions to expand across East Africa, the merger presented an ideal chance to collaborate, extend their footprint into the Ugandan market, and harness their strengths to uphold our mission of providing accessible banking solutions, particularly for local entrepreneurs and the SME business community.”

Morjaria also reflected on the bank’s evolution, saying, “We established a bank with a clear vision: to put customer needs first and create a trustworthy institution.” He added, “We focused relentlessly on building a solid reputation for fairness, continuous innovation, and unwavering trustworthiness, which proved essential in establishing our place in the market.”

Looking to the future, Morjaria envisions I&M Bank continuing its legacy for another 50 years and beyond, maintaining its core values while innovating to meet evolving customer needs. “Our priority is to grow the bank’s market share with the vision of becoming a top 5 bank in Uganda over the next decade,” he noted. “To achieve this, we believe continued investment in digital services will be critical as our belief is more customers will demand convenience banking in the coming years.”

Morjaria expressed his appreciation to customers, employees, and regulators, saying, “Their trust, dedication, and guidance have been instrumental in shaping the bank’s success and commitment to excellence in the region’s financial sector.”