Standard Chartered (STAN.L) has disclosed on Friday, July 14 that it has reached an agreement to sell its subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa to Nigeria’s Access Bank, putting into motion a plan announced last year to divest those businesses.

According to Standard Chartered, it will sell its shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia and Sierra Leone to Access.

Again, it will also sell its consumer, private and business banking business in Tanzania to Access Bank, a subsidiary of Access Holdings (ACCESSCORP.LG).

“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.

The agreement Is in line with Standard Chartered’s global strategy “aimed at achieving operational efficiencies, reducing complexity, and driving scale,” it said.

A value for the deal, whichh is expected to be completed in the next year, was not disclosed. The deals are subject to regulatory approvals in each of the countries as well as in Nigeria.

“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 CEO for AME, said in the statement.

The statement said the deal would help Access “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”.

A key Step In Building Strong Global Franchise

For Access, 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.

“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,” Access Group Managing Director Roosevelt Ogbonna said in the statement.

Commenting on the agreement, the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, stated, “We are pleased to sign this agreement today”.

“We express our appreciation for being selected as the preferred partner to Standard Chartered Bank 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.”
Roosevelt Ogbonna

Access and Standard Chartered Bank will work closely together in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition.

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.