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Bank Privatization in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Uganda Commercial Bank

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  • Clarke, George R.G.
  • Cull, Robert
  • Fuchs, Michael

Abstract

Summary Because large state-owned banks are often the only financial service providers in remote areas of low-income countries, policymakers worry that even if privatization improves performance, it might reduce access. We study this issue through a case study: the privatization of Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) to the South African bank Stanbic. Though market segmentation remains a concern since Stanbic faces little or no direct competition in many remote areas, some innovative aspects of the sales agreement have enabled the bank to improve its profitability while maintaining, or even improving, access to financial services for some hard-to-serve groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Clarke, George R.G. & Cull, Robert & Fuchs, Michael, 2009. "Bank Privatization in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Uganda Commercial Bank," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1506-1521, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:9:p:1506-1521
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    Cited by:

    1. Doug Dyer & Majdi Quttainah & Pengfei Ye, 2015. "Privatization, intermediation and performance: global evidence," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 207-229, December.
    2. Moazzam Farooq & Sweder van Wijnbergen & Sajjad Zaheer, 2015. "Will Islamic Banking make the World less risky? An Empirical Analysis of Capital Structure, Risk Shifting and Financial Stability," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-051/VI/DSF92, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Beck, Thorsten & Hesse, Heiko, 2009. "Why are interest spreads so high in Uganda?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 192-204, March.
    4. Zins, Alexandra & Weill, Laurent, 2018. "Do Pan-African banks have the best of both worlds?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 665-681.
    5. Cull, Robert & Spreng, Connor P., 2011. "Pursuing efficiency while maintaining outreach: Bank privatization in Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 254-261, March.
    6. Babasyan, Davit & Gu, Yunfan & Melecky, Martin, 2023. "Late banking transitions: Comparing Uzbekistan to earlier reformers," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    7. Parinduri, Rasyad A. & Riyanto, Yohanes E., 2012. "The Impact of the Strategic Sale of Restructured Banks: Evidence from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 446-457.
    8. Estrin, Saul & Pelletier, Adeline, 2018. "Privatization in developing countries: what are the lessons of recent experience?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 87348, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Brown, Martin & Guin, Benjamin & Kirschenmann, Karolin, 2012. "Microfinance Commercialization and Mission Drift," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 66(4), pages 340-357.
    10. Bertay,Ata Can & Calice,Pietro & Diaz Kalan,Federico Alfonso & Masetti,Oliver, 2020. "Recent Trends in Bank Privatization," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9318, The World Bank.
    11. Thorsten Beck & Michael Fuchs & Dorothe Singer & Makaio Witte, 2014. "Making Cross-Border Banking Work for Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 20248.
    12. Anthony Q. Q. Aboagye & Isaac Otchere, 2013. "How Have Consumers Fared in Bank Privatization? International Evidence," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(1), pages 29-45, January.
    13. Thorsten Beck, 2015. "Cross-Border Banking and Financial Deepening: The African Experience," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 24(suppl_1), pages 32-45.
    14. Estrin, Saul & Pelletier, Adeline, 2016. "Privatisation in Developing Countries: What Are the Lessons of Recent Experience?," IZA Discussion Papers 10297, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Todorov, R.I., 2013. "Essays on banking and regulation," Other publications TiSEM d0f202a7-ae6f-43d5-91b4-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Beck, Thorsten & Fuchs, Michael & Uy, Marilou, 2009. "Finance in Africa - Achievements and Challenges," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5020, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    bank privatization Uganda Africa access to finance;

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

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