The regional competition watchdog has opened a formal inquiry into Absa Bank Uganda’s planned acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank Uganda’s wealth and retail banking business, signaling the latest regulatory hurdle for a deal expected to reshape Uganda’s consumer banking landscape.
- •In a notice, the COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) said it had begun reviewing the transaction after receiving a merger notification from the two lenders.
- •The deal involves Absa Bank Uganda (ABU) purchasing the retail and wealth portfolio currently housed under Standard Chartered Bank Uganda (SCBU), a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Holdings (Africa) B.V., itself part of Standard Chartered PLC.
- •StanChart’s targeted portfolio covers core retail products and wealth offerings, an area where Absa is seeking scale amid rising competition in Uganda’s banking sector.
Absa Bank Uganda is part of Absa Group, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange–listed financial services conglomerate with operations in 12 African markets, including COMESA member states Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Uganda and Zambia.
The acquisition is expected to deepen Absa’s consumer and wealth footprint in Uganda, leveraging its existing infrastructure to accelerate long-term growth ambitions in the country.
