International Business: Standard Chartered slashes Africa and Middle East business to cut costs – Gulf Digital News
- Date: 14-Apr-2022
- Source: Gulf Digital News
- Sector:Economy
- Country:Middle East
International Business: Standard Chartered slashes Africa and Middle East business to cut costs – Gulf Digital News
Standard Chartered said on Thursday it is cutting its presence in Africa and the Middle East as it looks to reduce costs and focus on more profitable markets.
The bank will fully exit Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
It will also close its retail banking operations in Tanzania and Ivory Coast, to focus solely on corporate banking.
The move marks a major shift for Standard Chartered, which has been among the biggest European lenders to invest in the region in recent years at a time when peers have been withdrawing.
The bank said the cuts would allow it to focus on bigger and faster growing economies in the region, such as Saudi Arabia where it has opened its first branch, and Egypt.
The markets that will be exited generated around 1% of total income in 2021 and a similar proportion of profit before tax, the bank said. StanChart is currently present in 59 markets and serves clients in a further 83.
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