STANDARD Chartered Bank has sold its retail banking business in the country to Access Bank but the deal completion waits the approval of two central banks.
The bank said in a statement on Sunday that its Consumer, Private, and Business Banking (CPBB) operations were sold to Access Bank and will focus solely on its Corporate, Commercial, and Institutional Banking (CCIB).
The statement said “sale of the Tanzanian business remains subject to the approval of the respective regulators in both Tanzania and the banking regulators in Nigeria”.
The announcement of withdrawing was made last Friday at the Bank’s headquarters in London witnessed by a number of senior representatives from both banks and was signed by Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa and Middle East, Standard Chartered, and, Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director, Access Bank.
The agreement with Access Bank for the sale of the lender’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, according to the statement.
The StanChart Tanzania CEO Mr Herman Kasekende said the retail banking operations will be handed over to the Access in the country while assuring its clients that products and services will operate normally.
“Following this announcement, Standard Chartered will continue its operations in the country with a focus on corporate, commercial, and institutional banking business,” said Mr Kasekende.
Additionally, “we would like to assure our clients that all our products, services, and banking channels will operate seamlessly,” he added.
He said the bank, which has been operating in the country for over 106 years, is determining the future of the business by remaining optimistic to focus on supporting foreign direct investment which is aiming at facilitating the growth of local businesses.
“As a provider of financial services, we are committed to continue offering services to our stakeholders and communities,” he added.
He further said StanChart is determined to work closely in the coming months with Access, which has more than 600 branches and service outlets and 52 million customers to ensure a seamless transition with the transaction expected to be completed over the next 12 months.
Also, the statement showed that the StanChart choice follows April 2022 strategic decision to divest from a number of markets, namely Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Jordan, and to exit the CPBB business in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.
