Standard Chartered Bank Uganda has completed the sale and transfer of its Wealth and Retail Banking business to Absa Bank Uganda, effective 13th November 2026, following regulatory approvals.
Client accounts and services will migrate over 13th–15th November, with customers gaining access to Absa’s banking channels from 16th November.
Standard Chartered will retain its Corporate & Investment Banking operations in Uganda.
It is still unclear whether the UK-based lender is slowly exiting from the African market. In Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya(SCBK) is already selling out its offices.
But analysts describe the UK lender’s corporate actions as a move to restructure its African operations. Rather than maintaining the same level of presence across every market where it operates, SCBK is choosing to concentrate its resources in markets and business segments where it sees better growth and returns.
SCBK appears to be actively pivoting away from mass-market retail banking to focus on affluent clients, wealth management and digital banking.
Standard Chartered has a long history in Uganda spanning over 114 years. The Bank opened its doors on 12th August 1912, making it the longest-established commercial bank in Uganda.
The lender has a series of firsts in Uganda.
