By Chris Dorrell
Standard Chartered announced today that it would sell its subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa to Nigeria-based Access Bank.
The bank will sell its stake in subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia and Sierra Leona as well as its consumer, private & business bank in Tanzania to Access Bank.
“Access Bank will provide a full range of banking services and continuity for key stakeholders including employees and clients of Standard Chartered’s businesses across the five aforementioned countries,” Standard Chartered said in a statement.
Last year Standard Chartered said it was looking to exit those countries as it sought to focus on faster growing markets in the region, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
“This strategic decision allows us to redirect resources within the AME region to other areas with significant growth potential,” Sunil Kaushal, Standard Chartered’s regional chief executive for Africa and the Middle East, said.
The value of the deal, which is expected to be completed next year, was not disclosed.
The emerging markets focused lender is aiming to reduce costs by more than $1bn (£802m) by 2024. Earlier this year it exited Zimbabwe, sold its Jordanian business to Arab Jordan Investment Bank and cut around 100 jobs worldwide.
With today’s announcement, Standard Chartered has withdrawn from all of the markets it said it would exit back in April last year, with the exception of Côte d’Ivoire where it remains “actively engaged” in discussions with potential buyers.
Although it is headquartered in London, Standard Chartered operates in 59 markets across the world, with a focus on Asia. Its sprawling footprint means it has a relatively high cost base.
Recently it has performed well, recording its best underlying profit since 2014 in the first quarter. It reported a 25 per cent increase in pretax profit to $1.8bn.
