London, United Kingdom — Standard Chartered has booked a USD 10 million loss after completing its withdrawal from retail and commercial banking in Cameroon and The Gambia, according to official statements issued alongside the lender’s 2025 full-year earnings released this week.
The exit, finalised during the second half of last year, forms part of a wider review of the British bank’s African portfolio that targets capital for higher-return markets, the communiqué. Despite the one-time charge, the group posted record annual profit of USD 7.
5 billion, underpinned by growth in Asia and the Middle East.
Cameroonian and Gambian authorities received formal notice of the closures in mid — 2025, after which local depositors were migrated to partner institutions or paid out, the document added.
Branches in Douala, Yaoundé and Banjul ceased operations in December, ending the bank’s 21-year presence in Cameroon and 27-year tenure in The Gambia. Regional banking supervisors have not disclosed the number of accounts affected, but sources close to the matter said the combined loan book at closure was “immaterial” to group totals. Employee severance packages were settled in January; further details were not immediately available.
The move shrinks the lender’s footprint in sub-Saharan Africa to nine countries, down from 14 in 2020, with Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire now its largest West African markets. Management reiterated that resources freed from the divestment will be channelled toward digital platforms in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, where customer growth exceeded 20 percent last year. Officials in Yaoundé and Banjul have not commented publicly on the closures.
Analysts tracking African banking say the withdrawal reflects tighter capital rules and limited foreign — exchange liquidity in smaller economies, though this could not be independently verified. Standard Chartered’s shares closed flat on the London Stock Exchange after the earnings release.
The bank gave no timeline for future African divestments, saying only that it “continuously evaluates market fit.
” Further details are expected when management hosts investors in March.
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Source: Africa.
