Uganda Commercial Bank

Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd (UCB/UCBL) was a Ugandan government-owned bank, and the largest financial institution in the country. In 2001 the bank was privatised and merged into Stanbic Bank (Uganda) Limited.

History[]

Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) was established by an Act of Parliament, "The Uganda Commercial Bank Act, 1965". The new bank was to replace the .^[1]

The bank extended banking services to rural areas, and steadily expanded its branch network throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1971/72, following the nationalisation of foreign-owned businesses by the government of Idi Amin, the bank's branch network expanded rapidly when it took over most of the branches of foreign-owned banks - leaving Uganda Commercial Bank with nearly a monopoly in banking markets outside Kampala. The fall of Amin's government in 1979 brought a revival of foreign development assistance to Uganda, some of which was channelled through Uganda Commercial Bank, leading to an increase in its share of medium-term financing and its loan portfolio. The bank's branches were also used to perform functions for the government, such as the handling of payments of taxes and school fees.^[2]

In the late 1980s, then chairman and managing director Dr. Frank Alfred Mwine led the bank in opening 130 new branches and further expanding its investments. Dr. Mwine was a Harvard Law educated Ugandan and a World Bank executive. By the 1990s UCB held around 50% of commercial bank deposits and had 190 of the 270 bank branches in the country. The second largest branch network at that time, the , had 24 branches.^[2]

Sale and merger[]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the government of Uganda adopted private sector development (PSD) policies and decided to divest itself of the majority of government-owned corporations.^[3]

In 1997, an agreement to sale 51% stakes in Uganda Commercial Bank was concluded with the Malaysian industrial conglomerate . However, in 1998, after Westmont failed to pay the agreed fee and was accused of acting fraudulently, the transaction was nullified. In 2001, 80% shares of the bank was bought by the South African investment bank Standard Bank. Standard Bank merged Uganda Commercial Bank with its existing bank Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited.^[4]

References[]