Standard Bank boosts West African presence with Ivory Coast setup

Standard Bank has opened a fully licensed corporate and investment banking unit in Ivory Coast, focusing on clients in its capital Abidjan.

The bank now operates in 20 African markets, and its presence in Ivory Coast could serve as a hub to other countries in the region such as Mali, Senegal, and Togo.

Standard Bank will run under the Stanbic brand in Ivory Coast.

 “We look forward to partnering with our clients in Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire’s vibrant financial services sector and competitive banking industry is an excellent launch pad for Standard Bank to expand its services and we look forward to being able to contribute to the economic development of the country,” said Hervé Boyer, Stanbic Bank’s CEO for Ivory Coast.

In Global Custodian’s recently published Agent Banks in Frontier Market’s Survey, Standard Bank – or Stanbic Bank – performed particularly well in Botswana, Ghana and Kenya.

In the Ivory Coast analysis we noted that while scores across incumbent providers were up year-on-year, they were below the frontier markets average by between 0.23 and 0.71 points. Additional competition may be expected to drive up service levels.

“This is the culmination of a deliberate drive by Standard Bank to establish a presence in the Francophone West Africa region with its diverse, rapidly growing economies and business-friendly reputation,” said Sola David-Borha, Standard Bank’s chief executive for Africa Regions.

Standard Bank’s Africa business has tripled its revenue contribution to overall Group income – up to over R26 billion in 2017 from R10 billion in 2010.