NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 18 – Standard Chartered Bank has announced the sells of its consumer and banking business to Coris Group in Ivory Coast.
Subject to regulatory approvals and the transfer of business, it becomes the first successfully completed divestment process from various markets that was first announced in April 2022.
Idrissa NASSA, Chairman of the Coris Group, and Sunil Kaushal, CEO of Standard Chartered Africa and the Middle East (AME), announced the agreement.
“This agreement marks a milestone in Standard Chartered’s journey in the AME region towards streamlining the business and providing further impetus to our delivery of best-in-class services and expertise to our clients,” Kaushal said.
“The successful conclusion of the Bank’s strategic divestments will see us double-down on growth opportunities in AME by leveraging our long track record in the region,” he added.
“Alongside Coris Bank International, we are confident that this transition will be executed seamlessly as part of our commitment to prioritise the satisfaction of retail customers, the wellbeing and stability of our people.”
However, StanChart will maintain its presence in the West African nation with a focus on corporate, commercial, and institutional banking business.
“The third largest banking group in the WAEMU, the Pan-African banking group Coris, aims to accelerate growth in its areas of presence, and this acquisition is an opportunity for us to offer our best quality of service,” NASSA stated.
“We reassure our new clients of our institution’s ability to preserve and strengthen the quality of service.”
Expected to reach completion in the next few months, the sale of Standard Chartered’s consumer banking business in Côte d’Ivoire is the last in a series of strategic divestments announced in Zimbabwe, Lebanon, and Angola.
Others are Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Jordan, and the consumer banking business in Tanzania since April 2022.
These divestments come as part of the bank’s global strategy aimed at delivering efficiencies, reducing complexity, and driving scale in its presence across AME.
The transaction in Jordan was successfully completed, with the business officially transferred to the new buyer in August 2023, and the migration of other businesses to their respective buyers is proceeding as planned.
