Revealed in their annual 2021 results presentation, Standard Chartered disclosed the acceleration of its strategy to “deliver efficiencies
Multinational banking and financial services company, Standard Chartered, is looking to close up shop in several African and Middle Eastern countries, aiming to redirect resources to countries with the most growth potential.
Revealed in their annual 2021 results presentation, Standard Chartered disclosed the acceleration of its strategy to “deliver efficiencies, reduce complexity and drive scale” through several exits of onshore operations in seven markets in Africa and Middle East (AME) to focus solely on its Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (CCIB) business.
Accordingly, the bank will be fully exiting from Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. However, the bank’s assets in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire will exit from the Private and Business Banking businesses and will focus solely on CCIB.
As for Egypt, Standard Chartered mentioned it as part of its expansion in some of the largest and fastest growing economies in AME, noting that it obtained preliminary approval for a banking license. The bank became the first foreign bank to receive a license to operate in Egypt after the issuance of the new Banking Law in September 2020 back in January 2022.
“As we set out earlier in the year, we are sharpening our focus on the most significant opportunities for growth while also simplifying our business… Collectively, our actions will position the AME franchise for the next phase of growth after a very strong 2021 performance,” explained Standard Chartered Group CEO, Bill Winters in a statement.
There will be no change to how the Group reports these businesses for the first quarter 2022 results, wrote the statement.
