Finance Trust is preparing for life after Annet Nakawunde Mulindwa. The bank announced on September 1 that its long-serving Managing Director will leave in November 2026 to take up a new international leadership opportunity, ending nearly 15 years at the helm.
Her departure comes only months after Finance Trust made one of its biggest strategic changes: transitioning from a Tier I commercial bank to a Tier II credit institution on April 1, 2026.
There is no evidence that the two developments are connected. Finance Trust says Nakawunde is leaving for an international opportunity and will remain in charge until November while the Board manages the succession process.
But the timing makes the departure significant. The numbers tell a strong story Nakawunde has often argued that leadership should ultimately be judged by results. By that measure, her record at Finance Trust is substantial.
The institution closed 2025 with approximately UGX668 billion in assets, up from UGX551 billion a year earlier. Customer deposits rose from UGX340.7 billion to UGX451.7 billion, while the loan portfolio reached about UGX397 billion.
Profit after tax increased from UGX10.4 billion in 2024 to UGX18.1 billion in 2025, a 74 percent increase.
When Nakawunde took charge in 2011, Finance Trust had approximately UGX92.2 billion in assets, UGX46.1 billion in deposits and UGX46.1 billion in loans.
By 2025, assets had grown more than sevenfold, deposits had increased almost tenfold and lending had expanded to about UGX397 billion. That is a significant record of expansion.
Finance Trust operated as a commercial bank for almost 13 years after securing its licence in 2013. That changed this year. Uganda’s revised regulatory framework raised the minimum paid-up capital requirement for Tier I commercial banks to UGX150 billion. Finance Trust chose to transition to a Tier II credit institution rather than remain in the commercial banking category.
Management has presented the decision as a strategic repositioning, arguing that Tier II better aligns with Finance Trust’s strengths in inclusive finance, SME banking and community banking.
Whether that strategy ultimately strengthens the institution will take time to establish.
After nearly 15 years at the helm, Annet Nakawunde Mulindwa is leaving Finance Trust at a defining moment for the institution.
The transition was also sensitive enough to generate public concern. In March, Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego directly addressed rumours surrounding the institution, saying,
“Finance Trust Bank is not closing. It is not collapsing.”
He said the transition was being undertaken under Bank of Uganda supervision and reassured customers that their deposits were safe and services would continue uninterrupted.
For an institution that had spent more than a decade building itself as a commercial bank, however, the move represented more than a regulatory change. It marked a new phase in Finance Trust’s identity.
Three versions of Finance Trust. Perhaps the most remarkable part of Nakawunde’s tenure is the number of different institutions she has led.
She joined Finance Trust in 2007 as a compliance manager and rose through the organisation. In 2011, she was entrusted with leading its transformation from a microfinance deposit-taking institution into a commercial bank.
Finance Trust secured its commercial banking licence in 2013, and Nakawunde subsequently spent more than a decade leading the institution as a Tier I bank before overseeing its return to Tier II status this year.
She therefore leaves having led Finance Trust through three institutional identities: a microfinance deposit-taking institution, a Tier I commercial bank and a Tier II credit institution.
That is an unusual leadership journey. A legacy beyond the balance sheet Finance Trust’s story also extends beyond financial numbers.
Its roots lie in Uganda Women’s Finance and Credit Trust, established to expand financial access for women who were largely excluded from conventional banking.
That history remains reflected in the institution’s focus on women, entrepreneurs, SMEs and underserved communities.
Nakawunde also became a visible advocate for women in leadership, challenging the perception that senior executive positions are predominantly male territory. Her own career became part of that argument: she became chief executive before turning 40 and remained in the role for approximately 15 years.
The question is no longer simply why Nakawunde is leaving. The bigger question is what Finance Trust becomes after her. Her successor will inherit a profitable institution with growing deposits, a substantial loan book and an established financial inclusion franchise.
But the new CEO will also inherit a bank still adjusting to its new regulatory identity. The challenge will be to prove that Tier II is not simply the consequence of higher capital requirements, but a sustainable long-term business strategy.
Can Finance Trust continue growing deposits and lending while protecting asset quality? Can it use technology to serve customers more efficiently, particularly in rural Uganda? And can it maintain its position among women and small businesses as commercial banks, fintechs, SACCOs and other financial institutions compete for the same customers?
Perhaps the biggest question is whether Tier II is Finance Trust’s permanent home or whether it could eventually seek a return to commercial banking. For now, the institution has given no indication that it intends to return to Tier I.
How should the Nakawunde era be judged? There are two easy ways to tell this story. One is to celebrate 15 years of growth and treat the Tier II transition as a footnote. The other is to define her tenure by Finance Trust giving up the commercial banking status she helped build. Neither tells the full story.
Under Nakawunde, assets grew from approximately UGX92.2 billion in 2011 to UGX668 billion in 2025. Deposits rose from UGX46.1 billion to UGX451.7 billion, while loans expanded to about UGX397 billion. Profit after tax reached UGX18.1 billion in 2025.
Those results are difficult to dismiss. But Finance Trust also entered commercial banking under Nakawunde and left it under Nakawunde. That fact belongs in the assessment too. The ultimate verdict may depend on what happens next.
If Finance Trust continues growing and builds a strong Tier II franchise, the 2026 transition could eventually be remembered as a disciplined strategic reset.
If growth falters, questions about the decision to relinquish Tier I status will become harder to avoid.
For now, Finance Trust faces its first major test of the post-Nakawunde era: finding someone capable of following the executive who has defined the institution for much of the past 15 years.
Annet Nakawunde is moving on. The more consequential question now belongs to Finance Trust: What does it become without her?
