Standard Chartered Agrees to Sell Jordan Unit to AJIB

Standard Chartered Bank intends to sell its unit in Jordan to to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB), according to what the two parties announced Sunday, as part of Standard Chartered's efforts to move forward with plans related to exiting seven markets in Africa and the Middle East.

The bank entered into an agreement with AJIB, which requires the approval of the Central Bank of Jordan to activate it. Under the agreement, Standard Chartered's corporate, commercial and institutional banking activities, as well as consumer lending and private banking will be transferred to the Bank of Jordan.

The bank said in an e-mailed statement that all of its employees in Jordan will be transferred to the Arab Jordan Investment Bank.

Sunil Kaushal, Chief Executive Officer for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered said the agreement is in line with the banks' global strategy to "achieve efficiencies, reduce complexity as well as redirect resources within the Africa and Middle East region to areas with the greatest potential for upgrading, growth and better customer support."

Arab Jordan Investment Bank said that the purchase comes within the framework of its strategy to increase its market share in the country, which increased after it acquired the unit of HSBC in Jordan in 2014 and the unit of the National Bank of Kuwait in Jordan in 2022.

Standard Chartered announced in April 2022 that it plans to exit seven markets: Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

The bank said at the time that it was seeking to exit the markets in which it operates on a small scale and narrow its focus on the fastest growing markets in the region such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.