Standard Bank of South Africa

Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg.

History

The bank now known as Standard Bank was formed in 1862 as a South African subsidiary of the British overseas bank Standard Bank, under the name The Standard Bank of South Africa.

The bank's origins can be traced to 1862, when a group of businessmen led by the prominent South African politician John Paterson formed a bank in London, initially under the name Standard Bank of British South Africa. The bank started operations in 1863 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and soon after opening it merged with several other banks including the ''Commercial Bank of Port Elizabeth'', the Colesberg Bank, the British Kaffrarian Bank and the ''Fauresmith Bank''.

It was prominent in financing and development of the diamond fields of Kimberley in 1867. The word "British" was dropped from the title in 1883. When gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand, the bank expanded northwards and on 11 October 1886 the bank started doing business in a tent at Ferreira's Camp (later to be called Johannesburg), thus becoming the first bank to open a branch on the Witwatersrand gold fields. On 1 November 1901 a second branch was opened in Eloff Street of Johannesburg.

Until 1962 the British bank was formally known as the Standard Bank of South Africa, although by then its operations spread across Africa. When the South African operations were formed into a subsidiary in 1962, the parent changed its name to Standard Bank Limited, and the South African subsidiary took its parent's previous name.

In 1967 shares in the Standard Bank of South Africa were offered to the South African public, although the British parent company retained over 80% of the shares.Standard Bank Group: Historical Overview

The parent bank merged in 1969 with Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China and the combined bank became known as Standard Chartered Bank. In 1969 the Standard Bank Investment Corporation (now Standard Bank Group) was established as the holding company of the South African bank. During the 1970s and 1980s Standard Chartered gradually reduced its shareholding, and sold its remaining 39% stake in Standard Bank Group in 1987, transferring complete ownership of the holding company to South African investors and in particular Liberty Life (and its affiliates), with the latter being the company's major shareholder until 1999.

In March 2019, Standard became the first bank in Africa to shift its operations onto Amazon Web Services.

In March 2019, the bank announced a reduction of 91 branches and 1200 staff. The decision was taken due to a growing use of self-service channels and a branch network becoming less relevant.

In July 2021, Standard Bank announced that it would increase its stake in Liberty Holdings, a South African insurance company, from 54% to 100%, for $594 million.

Expansion and acquisitions

Africa

In 1992 the bank acquired the operations of ANZ Grindlays Bank in eight African countries. Most of the newly acquired banks were renamed Stanbic Bank, to avoid confusion with the former parent (and now competitor), Standard Chartered, which continued to operate in Africa. Several more banks in Africa were acquired during the 1990s, and adopted the Stanbic name. Standard Bank now trades under the name Stanbic Bank in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Eswatini

Standard Bank Eswatini opened its doors in 1988 and is today a leading commercial bank in the country.

Ivory Coast

In February 2014, Standard Bank Group is expected to open a representative office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, marking the entry of the banking conglomerate into Francophone West Africa. Ivory Coast becomes the 19th African country where Standard Bank maintains a subsidiary.

Malawi

In December 2001, Standard Bank acquired 60.18% holding in the Commercial Bank of Malawi. The bank was renamed Standard Bank Malawi.

Madagascar

In Madagascar, the group is represented by Union Commercial Bank.

Mozambique

Standard Bank SARL ("SBM") has a long history and is considered one of the leaders of the local market. Already active in Mozambique for 120 years. The network's Standard Bank is one of the largest in the country. Covers all major towns and cities of Mozambique, with 44 branches.

Namibia

The Standard Bank Namibia is largely detached from the South African parent company for legal reasons. The bank was established in Namibia by the first commercial branch on 19 August 1915 in Lüderitz. It's one of the largest banks in Namibia and operates from more than 50 branches.

Nigeria

On 21 August 2007 Standard Bank Group acquired controlling interest in IBTC Chartered Bank. founded by the merger of the International Banking & Trust Company Plc and Chartered Bank Plc. This gave subsidiary Stanbic IBTC Holdings