British lender Standard Chartered PLC said Thursday that it is exiting several markets in Africa and the Middle East region, including Zimbabwe.
In a statement yesterday, the group said it will leave Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
It will close retail banking units in Tanzania and Ivory Coast, to focus only on corporate banking, commercial and institutional banking business.
The financial institution’s CEO, Bill Winters, explained that the company was looking to simplify its global structure.
The group will, however, continue to serve clients in the markets from its international network.
“We are sharpening our focus on the most significant opportunities for growth while also simplifying our business.
We remain excited by the number of opportunities we see in the AME region, as illustrated by our new markets, but remain disciplined in our assessment of where we can deliver significantly improved shareholder returns.”
Having first set up in 1892 as Standard Bank in Bulawayo, Standard Chartered is the oldest financial institution in Zimbabwe
In 1969, Standard Bank merged with Chartered Bank to form Standard Chartered and was fully incorporated in Zimbabwe in 1983.
In 2019, StanChart was fined $18 million by the US government for violating American sanctions on Zimbabwe.