Access Bank to acquire subsidiaries of Standard Chartered Bank in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania

Standard Chartered Bank and Access Bank have agreed to sell Standard Chartered’s stakes in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone, as well as its Consumer, Private, and Business Banking operations in Tanzania. Each transaction is still subject to approval by the respective local regulators as well as the CBN.

The announcement was made in the presence of top personnel from both institutions at Standard Chartered’s headquarters in London. Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered, and Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc signed the agreement.

The deal with Access for the sale of the bank’s Sub-Saharan Africa business is consistent with Standard Chartered’s worldwide strategy, which aims to achieve operational efficiency, reduce complexity, and drive scale.

Access Bank will offer a full range of banking services as well as continuity to important stakeholders such as employees and clients of Standard Chartered’s companies in the five countries indicated above. Access Bank and Standard Chartered will collaborate closely in the coming months to guarantee a smooth transition, with the transaction expected to be completed within the next year.

Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered, commented on the agreement, saying, “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 continuation of a partnership with Access Bank.” This strategic choice allows us to redirect resources within the AME region to other regions with substantial growth potential, allowing us to better service our clients in the long run. We look forward to working together with Access Bank’s team in the coming months to bring this transaction to a successful completion while protecting the interests of our loyal clients and prioritizing our workers.

“We are pleased to sign this agreement today and express our appreciation for being selected as Standard Chartered’s preferred partner through this transaction, in which it is exiting four African markets and refocusing in one,” said Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc. Standard Chartered Bank, a prominent regional and international bank with a long tradition spanning over 150 years, has established a strong presence in these markets for over 100 years.

This strategic transaction is an important step in Access Bank’s 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 strong capital base, a relentless focus on execution, and best-in-class customer service and governance structures.

We at Access Bank are dedicated to changing the worldwide picture of Africa and African businesses, even as we work toward our objective of becoming the World’s Most Respected African Bank. Our five-year growth strategy will see us establish a world-class payments gateway by using technology and a strong network of partnerships across our operational countries. This will be supported by a dynamic ecosystem of local and international partnerships, allowing us to efficiently service global payments and remittances. We will bridge the gap between cross-border and local transfers across all business categories as a result of our recent European expansion and increased presence in important commercial corridors across Africa. More significantly, we are devoted to having a good impact on our host communities.” Ogbonna elaborated.

Standard Chartered made a strategic decision in April 2022 to quit a number of markets, including Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Jordan, as well as the CPBB (Consumer Private and operations Banking) operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania. The bank announced the sale of its operations in Zimbabwe in early June and Jordan in March of this year. Standard Chartered has substantially completed the divestment process from the markets announced in April 2022, with the exception of Côte d’Ivoire, where it is still actively involved in conversations with possible buyers to sell its CPBB business in the nation.