Standard Chartered Bank’s Kenyan Headquarters is up for sale. Is the bank on its way out?
The Standard Chartered Bank has put up its headquarters for sale. Hence, many people are wondering if the bank is preparing to wind up operations in Kenya.
According to top management, the bank remains fully operational in Kenya. Apparently, there are no plans for the bank to leave Kenya in the foreseeable future. However, it’s clear that the bank can operate with fewer physical assets and fewer staff.
That is the reason behind selling the bank’s headquarters in Chiromo. The bank’s headquarters is a 7-story structure situated on a piece of land, 1.88 acres in size.
Also, over the past 10 or so years, the bank’s staff size has halved. From a head count of more than 2,000 around 2014, the bank’s employees now stand at slightly more than 940.
A Brief History of the Bank
The Standard Chartered Bank, popularly known as StanChart, has been operating in Kenya since January 1911. Its first branch was in Mombasa, but the bank later spread its operations countrywide.
Standard Chartered Bank was among the first two foreign banks to invest in Kenya. The other was the National Bank of India, which, through some acquisitions, later became the Kenya Commercial Bank.
The years of COVID-19, meaning the first few years since 2020, revealed other operational possibilities. They showed that businesses could perform several operations without requiring staff to be physically present.
As such, Standard Chartered Bank has since sought to leverage technology to reduce operational costs.
Even before COVID, the bank always tried to minimize operational costs. Hence, it closed branches that appeared not to be self-sustaining. For instance, the bank used to have branches in the towns of Nyeri and Karatina. However, sometime in the 1990s, the bank closed the Karatina branch, leaving Karatina customers to seek services in Nyeri.
With technology being even more advanced today, the bank is finding it much easier to close down more branches without affecting its clientele. Apparently, plans are already underway to close the Standard Chartered Bank, Meru Branch.
Other branches the bank has closed in recent years include Kitengela and Kisii. It has also closed the Bungoma branch.
Kenya’s Safe Business Environment
One thing Standard Chartered Bank and other foreign investors cannot complain about is common thuggery. Banks can operate in cities and Kenya’s rural areas without fear.
This cannot be said of some foreign cities, which, despite not being in war-torn countries, still experience high levels of insecurity. Chicago, US, for example, is one city where the Police Department spends a significant amount of money to keep banks and other businesses safe.
Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is largely safe. The few incidents that occur once in a while are the same kind one finds in London, Madrid, or even Paris; or like the rare Naples heist case.