Standard Chartered Bank has entered into an agreement with Access Bank Plc (Access) for the sale of its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone. It will also be offloading its Consumer, Private & Business Banking business in Tanzania. Each transaction remains subject to the approval of the respective local regulators and the banking regulator in Nigeria.
The announcement was made today at Standard Chartered’s Headquarters in London in the presence of senior representatives from both banks. Signed by, Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered and, Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc. The agreement with Access for the sale of the bank’s business in Sub-Saharan Africa is in line 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 key stakeholders including employees and clients of Standard Chartered’s businesses across the five aforementioned countries. 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.
For Access Bank, this strategic 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; a relentless focus on execution; and best-in-class customer service & governance structures.
Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered, 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 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”.
In April 2022, Standard Chartered strategically decided to divest from a number of markets, namely Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Jordan, and to exit the CPBB (Consumer Private and Business Banking) business in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania. The Bank announced its sale of its business in Zimbabwe earlier in June and in Jordan in March this year. With this announcement, Standard Chartered has substantially completed the divestment process from the markets announced in April 2022, except Côte d’Ivoire where it remains actively engaged in discussions with potential buyers for the sale of its CPBB business in the country.