Standard Chartered Bank Ghana has reported a GH¢354.26 million profit for the first nine months of 2026, but a sharp decline in earnings, shrinking customer deposits and rising operating costs are raising fresh questions about the value of its retail banking franchise as the international banking group explores a potential sale of the business.
The bank’s unaudited financial results show that group profit after tax fell by 30.34% to GH¢354.26 million from GH¢508.57 million recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
The decline comes at a particularly important time for the bank, following its June 25 announcement that it was exploring a sale of its Wealth and Retail Banking business in Ghana. Its Corporate and Investment Banking operation, however, will remain in the country.
The latest performance presents a more challenging picture for prospective buyers who may be assessing the attractiveness of the retail banking operation, particularly as the wider group battles weaker income, higher expenses and a significant contraction in customer deposits.
Profit Slump Puts Banking Franchise Under Pressure
One of the most concerning developments in the September 2026 results is the substantial decline in interest earnings, which traditionally form a major source of revenue for commercial banks.
Group net interest income dropped by 30.13% to GH¢541.59 million from GH¢775.09 million in the corresponding period last year.
Gross interest income also declined sharply to GH¢623.54 million from GH¢902.33 million, indicating that the bank generated considerably less income from its interest-bearing assets.
Although interest expenses also declined, the reduction was insufficient to protect overall net interest income from the significant downturn.
The pressure extended beyond interest earnings. Net fees and commissions fell by 17.71% to GH¢188.72 million from GH¢229.32 million, reflecting another weakness in the bank’s revenue-generating activities.
This development could become particularly important in determining the attractiveness of the retail and wealth banking business. Revenue from customer transactions, account services, investment products and other banking services can significantly influence the long-term profitability of a retail banking franchise.
However, the published financial statements do not separately identify the contribution of the business earmarked for sale, leaving potential buyers with the task of examining how much of the group’s revenue deterioration is attributable to that operation.
GH¢2.22 Billion Deposit Decline Raises Concerns
Perhaps more striking is the contraction in the bank’s customer deposit base.
Customer deposits declined to GH¢10.46 billion at the end of September 2026, compared with GH¢12.68 billion recorded in September 2025.
This represents a reduction of approximately GH¢2.22 billion, or 17.49%, within one year.
The cash-flow statement also recorded a GH¢1.90 billion reduction arising from changes in customer deposits during the first nine months of 2026.
Although these figures reflect different reporting comparisons, they place the bank’s funding position under greater scrutiny as it prepares for a possible restructuring of its Ghanaian operations.
Customer deposits are particularly important to retail banking because they provide a major source of funding for lending activities and support the broader relationship between banks and their customers.
A shrinking deposit base could therefore complicate the assessment of the franchise’s long-term earnings potential.
Nevertheless, the financial statements do not establish that the proposed sale triggered customer withdrawals. They also do not distinguish between retail and corporate deposits, making it difficult to determine precisely where the decline originated.
Operating Costs Rise as Income Weakens
While the bank struggled to generate revenue, its operating expenses moved in the opposite direction.
Total group operating expenses increased by 6.05% to GH¢670.74 million from GH¢632.46 million in the previous year.
Personnel expenses accounted for a significant portion of the expenditure, rising to GH¢459.37 million from GH¢433.00 million.
The combination of falling operating income and rising expenses pushed the group’s estimated cost-to-income ratio to approximately 58.08%, compared with 45.52% a year earlier.
This suggests that a considerably larger proportion of the bank’s income is now being absorbed by operational costs.
Although net trading income provided some relief, increasing by 18.31% to GH¢426.21 million from GH¢360.24 million, the improvement was not enough to prevent overall operating income from declining to GH¢1.15 billion from GH¢1.39 billion.
The deteriorating cost efficiency could become an important consideration for prospective buyers, who would need to evaluate staffing requirements, technology investments and other operational expenses associated with acquiring the retail banking business.
Asset Quality and Balance Sheet Movements Attract Attention
The bank’s total assets contracted by 11.66% to GH¢14.63 billion, reflecting significant changes in its balance sheet during the reporting period.
Interestingly, customer loans and advances increased by 24.43% to GH¢2.54 billion from GH¢2.04 billion.
However, investment securities declined substantially to GH¢2.80 billion from GH¢5.47 billion, while amounts due from other banks increased to GH¢4.62 billion from GH¢1.65 billion.
These movements indicate a considerable shift in the composition of the bank’s assets, although the available figures do not establish whether the changes are connected to preparations for the proposed transaction.
Credit quality also presents an area requiring attention. The disclosed gross non-performing loan ratio increased to 23.25% from 21.75%.
However, the ratio excluding the loss category stood at a significantly lower 0.76%, compared with 0.60% previously.
The distinction is important because the headline NPL ratio does not independently establish the likely recoverability of the bank’s outstanding loans or the extent of provisions already recognised.
What Does This Mean for the Proposed Sale?
When Standard Chartered announced its strategic review in June, chief executive Xorse Godzi described the retail operation as a “strong franchise with established client base and talented colleagues”.
The bank envisaged a phased transition over 18 to 24 months, subject to regulatory approvals, while maintaining service continuity.
However, the September results introduce additional considerations into the potential transaction.
A prospective buyer will need to establish the independent earnings capacity of the retail franchise, the stability of its customer deposits, the quality of its loan portfolio and the costs required to sustain its operations.
Importantly, the GH¢354.26 million profit represents the performance of the entire Ghana group. It should not be interpreted as the earnings generated by the business being offered for sale.
Meanwhile, shareholder funds declined to GH¢2.49 billion from GH¢2.83 billion at the beginning of the year, following dividends and other movements.
Dividends paid during the nine-month period amounted to GH¢673.48 million, significantly exceeding the profit generated during the same period. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio, however, remained broadly stable at 23.12%, against 23.20% previously.
Standard Chartered Ghana remains profitable, but its latest financial performance presents a tougher environment for protecting the value of its retail banking franchise.
