Agreements have been reached between Standard Chartered Bank and Access Bank Plc for the sale of Standard Chartered’s ownership interests in its subsidiaries in Tanzania, Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone.
According to the release, every transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant local regulators and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Senior personnel from both banks attended today’s announcement in Standard Chartered’s London headquarters, which was also where Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO of Standard Chartered for Africa and the Middle East, and Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director of Access Bank, signed it.
According to Standard Chartered, the deal is in accordance with its worldwide strategy, which aims to achieve operational efficiency, lessen complexity, and increase scale.
Key stakeholders, including as the staff and customers of Standard Chartered’s companies throughout the five countries, would get a full range of financial services from Access Bank, as well as continuity.
The transaction is anticipated to completion within the next 12 months, and the two banks will collaborate closely over the next months to guarantee a smooth transition.
Commenting on the agreement, Kaushal stated: “Following on the announcement we made in April last year, the project is now substantially completed with the announcement for the sale of the 5 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.”
“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 on 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,” Ogbonna concluded.
In April 2022, Standard Chartered made a strategic decision to quit the consumer, private, and business banking (CPBB) sector in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire as well as from a number of other markets, including Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Jordan.
The Bank announced the sale of its operations in Jordan in March and Zimbabwe earlier in June.
Except for Côte d’Ivoire, where it is still actively in talks with possible bidders for the sale of its CPBB business there, Standard Chartered has already effectively finished the divestiture process from the markets announced in April 2022.
