Standard Chartered Plc is considering expanding its presence in Africa to grow its wealth and transactions businesses, after spending the past three years exiting some of its smaller operations on the continent.
“Like we’ve gone and expanded in Egypt with a fully-fledged bank on the ground, we are looking at one or two other countries,” Chris Egberink, chief executive officer and head of banking & coverage, South Africa said in an interview in Johannesburg. “There’s a number of countries we are considering, and Morocco is one.”
The timing will depend on regulatory engagement, licensing, due diligence and client appetite, Egberink said.
The move will enhance the London-based lender’s strategy of focusing on its wealth and cross-border transactional businesses after divesting units in Africa and the Middle East since April 2022 to streamline its operations. It has exited units in Zimbabwe, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Jordan, Lebanon and Tanzania and is looking to sell its retail banking businesses in Botswana, Uganda and Zambia.
The lender opened a branch in Egypt in January last year as it views it as a pivotal gateway to Africa and the Middle East.
Risk-on
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The bank remains risk-on in South Africa, Egberink said. That’s even as fractures have emerged between the two biggest partners in the nation’s coalition government over the direction of the economy and budget, and US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs stoke global uncertainty.
“None of our clients are running away. All our American clients, all European clients, our Asian clients are all still saying, ‘what else can we do?’,” Egberink said.
Standard Chartered has benefited from the departure of some of its global competitors from the South African market, he said. “It’s never good for a country when an international bank exits because it’s a signal, but we’ve been able to step in and do quite well out of that and it’s actually been really beneficial for us.”
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Societe Generale SA, BNP Paribas SA and HSBC Holdings Plc have all shrunk their footprint on the continent.
In South Africa, Standard Chartered is seeing deals in the metals and mining space, retail clothing, manufacturing, construction, and water treatment.
“We are seeing a lot of aggressive interest from the United Arab Emirates - a lot more on the merger and acquisitions side from the east,” Egberink said.
