Standard Chartered Bank Sells Subsidiaries In Angola, Cameroon, Three Other African Nations

The Standard Chartered Bank has sold its shareholding in its subsidiaries involving African countries.

Naija News gathered that the countries include Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.

The bank, as gathered, agreed to divest its shareholding to Access Bank Plc

Recall that in April 2022, Standard Chartered decided to divest from several markets, including  Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Jordan, as well as to exit the CPBB (Consumer Private and Business Banking) business in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.

The bank announced the sale of its business in Zimbabwe earlier in June and in Jordan in March this year.

The completion of the divestment was contained in a statement by the United Kingdom-based lender on Friday.

The statement revealed that the process was sealed on Friday at Standard Chartered’s headquarters in London in the presence of senior representatives from both Access Bank Plc and Standard Chartered Bank.

The agreement was signed by the Regional CEO of Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered Sunil Kaushal, and the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna.

Each sale transaction remains subject to the approval of the respective local regulators and the banking regulator in Nigeria.

Following the completion of the divestment, Access Bank and Standard Chartered will work closely together in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition, with the transaction expected to be completed over the next 12 months.

The lender said the agreement with Access for the sale of the bank’s business in Sub-Saharan Africa aligned with Standard Chartered’s global strategy, aimed at achieving operational efficiencies, reducing complexity, and driving scale.

Access Bank will provide a full range of banking services and continuity for critical stakeholders, including employees and clients of Standard Chartered’s businesses across the five countries above.

Reacting to the development, Kaushal said, “Following on the announcement we made in April last year, the project is now substantially completed with the announcement for the sale of the five markets and the furtherance of a partnership with Access Bank.

“This strategic decision allows us to redirect resources within the AME region to other areas with significant growth potential, ultimately enabling us to better support our clients. We look forward to working closely with Access Bank’s team over the coming months to achieve a successful conclusion to this transaction while safeguarding the interests of our valued clients and prioritising our employees.”

Speaking about the transaction, Ogbonna submitted, “We are pleased to sign this agreement today and express our appreciation for being selected as the preferred partner to Standard Chartered through this transaction, in which it is exiting four African markets and refocusing in one. As a distinguished regional and international bank with a rich heritage spanning over 150 years, Standard Chartered Bank has built a solid presence in these markets for over 100 years.

“For Access Bank, the transaction represents a key step in its journey to build a strong global franchise focused on serving as a gateway for payments, investment, and trade within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world, anchored by a robust capital base.

“At Access Bank, we are committed to reshaping the global perception of Africa and African businesses, even as we continue to build toward our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank. Our five-year growth plan will see us build a world-class class payments gateway leveraging the power of technology and a robust network of relationships across our operating countries. This will be supported by a dynamic ecosystem of local and international partnerships, enabling us to serve global payments and remittances efficiently.

“With our recent European expansion and our deepened presence in key trading corridors across Africa, we will bridge the gap between cross-border and domestic transfers across all business segments. More importantly, we are committed to impacting our host communities positively.”

It was however, gathered that the bank remains actively engaged in Côte d’Ivoire with potential buyers for the sale of its CPBB business in the country.