Standard Chartered exploring potential sale of wealth and retail banking units in Botswana, Uganda and Zambia
Standard Chartered has announced it is exploring the potential sale of “a small number of businesses” to fund “incremental investment” in its wealth management operations.
Standard Chartered is exploring the sale of a small number of businesses
As part of what it calls “the first in a small number of potential business exits”, the banking group says it is “exploring the potential sale of its wealth and retail banking (WRB) businesses in Botswana, Uganda and Zambia”.
Standard Chartered’s group chief executive, Bill Winters, says: “We continually assess the efficacy of our global business model and regularly take action to concentrate resources where we have the most distinctive client proposition.
“We have invested heavily in recent years in Africa, where we have operated for 170 years, and which remains core to our global network. We have more-than doubled wealth assets under management in sub-Saharan Africa since 2021 – driven by our hubs in Kenya and Nigeria – and we are confident that the greater concentration resulting from the proposed sales will help us to continue to outperform the market.”
Standard Chartered states that the move aligns with the “refreshed strategic priorities” outlined in its third quarter 2024 results.
In the group’s Q3 results published at the end of October, it noted that: “We are exploring the opportunity to sell all or part of a small number of businesses where the strategic rationale is not sufficiently compelling, enabling us to focus our resources on the cross-border needs of our CIB and affluent WRB clients.”
Furthermore, Standard Chartered revealed plans to invest approximately $1.5 billion over the next five years in “relationship managers and investment advisers, wealth solutions, and enhanced advisory, cross-border and digital capabilities”.
