Before Uganda's independence in 1962, the main banks in Uganda were Barclays (UK based); Grindlays (also UK), Standard Bank (South Africa based) and the Bank of Baroda from India. The currency was issued by the East African Currency Board, a London-based body. In 1966, the Bank of Uganda (BoU), which controlled the issue of currency and managed foreign exchange reserves, became the central bank and national banking regulator. The government-owned Uganda Commercial Bank and the Uganda Development Bank were launched in the 1960s. The Uganda Development bank was a state-owned development finance institution, which channeled loans from international sources into Ugandan enterprises and administered most of the development loans made to Uganda.