Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd (UCB/UCBL) was a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

n government-owned bank, and the largest financial institution in the country. In 2001 the bank was privatised and merged into

Stanbic Bank (Uganda) Limited Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (SBU) is a commercial bank in Uganda and is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the national banking regulator. Overview SBU is the largest commercial bank in the country, by assets. As of 31 December 2021, the bank's ...

History

Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) was established by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

, "The Uganda Commercial Bank Act, 1965". The new bank was to replace the Uganda Credit and Savings Bank. 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 Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

, 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 Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

. 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. 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 Co-operative Bank, had 24 branches.

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 corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

s. In 1997, an agreement to sale 51% stakes in Uganda Commercial Bank was concluded with the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n industrial conglomerate Westmont Land Asia Bhd. 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 Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n investment bank

Standard Bank Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...

. Standard Bank merged Uganda Commercial Bank with its existing bank

Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (SBU) is a commercial bank in Uganda and is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the national banking regulator. Overview SBU is the largest commercial bank in the country, by assets. As of 31 December 2021, the bank's ...

References

{{Authority control Defunct banks of Uganda Banks established in 1965 Banks disestablished in 2001