After 128 years in the country, Standard Chartered Bank is leaving the Gambia. The group has announced it is exiting several operations around the world, including the tiny west African nation to cut costs.
The bank said in a statement on Thursday that it will leave Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe. Standard Chartered will also close its retail banking units in Tanzania and Ivory Coast, to focus only on corporate banking.
The bank said that it had taken steps across the group “fundamentally transforming its digital capabilities in its African markets”.
The move marks a major shift for Standard Chartered, which has been among the biggest European lenders to invest in the continent in recent years at a time when peers have been withdrawing.
Standard Chartered is a market-leading financial service brand in The Gambia. The bank has been operating in The Gambia since 1894 and was the first Bank to introduce Automated Teller Machines in the Gambia, with 12 ATMs that accept VISA, Mastercard, and CUP cards within the greater Banjul area. The Bank has 4 branches and 1 Agency in prime locations in Banjul, Serrekunda, Kairaba Avenue, Basse, and Senegambia.
Standard Chartered aspires to be the best international bank for its customers in the Gambia. The Bank has been rewarded with the Best Foreign Exchange Bank Award in 2013, 2009, 2008, and 2007 from the Global Finance and Bank of the Year Awards from the Banker in 2013, 2009, 2006, and 2009. In 2014 Standard Chartered Gambia won the Best Bank Award from Global Finance and the Banker of the year from EMEA Finance, the Bank said on its official website.
It employs over 140 people, many of whom are women. Standard Charted Gambia Ltd employees are of different nationalities among senior management.
