Zimbabwe’s oldest financial institution Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe (Stanchart) is exiting the country to redirect resources in Africa and the Middle East.
The Standard Chartered Bank, which owns Stanchart set an action to redirect resources to areas where it can have the greatest scale and growth in order to better support its clients according to the company website.
Standard Chartered Group CEO, Bill Winters, said: “As we set out earlier in the year, we are sharpening our focus on the most significant opportunities for growth while also simplifying our business.”
“We remain excited by a 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.”
Currently, the Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe has 390 employees and two branches in the country according to the financial institution’s website.
The bank has been downsizing since 2014 when it closed down six branches countrywide.
Stanchart was established in Zimbabwe in 1892 as the Standard Bank located in a bell tent in Bulawayo.
A merger of the Standard Bank and Chartered Bank in 1969 created the Standard Chartered Bank.
Besides Zimbabwe, Standard Chartered Bank will be full exiting six other countries including Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone.
The bank says markets that will be exited generated around one per cent of total Group 2021 income and a similar proportion of profit before tax.
