The Standard Bank Group is considered as a global bank with African roots. The following article is an introduction to Standard Bank’s history, products and services.
Standard Bank Overview
Standard Bank is South Africa’s largest bank and is distinguished because of fits extensive operations within the 17 African countries.
Outside the African continent, the Standard Bank Group operations have flourished to 16 countries with a focus on the emerging markets. Standard Bank’s customers benefit from the bank’s knowledge and expertise in the emerging markets, coupled with the bank’s global outlook.
Standard Bank Group is one among the list of the JSE Limited with a share code of SBK and with the Namibian stock exchange with a share code SNB. The group had a total asset of R1 345 billion or is equivalent to $182 billion at the end of 2009.
The group also employed over 50,000 people worldwide. Standard Bank market capitalization as of December 31, 2009 was R159 billion or $22 billion.
Standard Bank And Africa
The Standard Bank group has played an essential role in the improvement of the Southern African for over 140 years now. This has been made possible by simply having a constant alignment of its presence in the market place together with the evolving needs of the region’s economy. Standard Bank also never stopped in providing relevant banking and financial services to consumers.
Standard Bank Services
The three main pillars of the Standard Bank Group are the following: Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking, and Wealth. The bank’s staff aspires to provide the customers with bespoke banking solutions across these areas. As part of the bank’s structural re-alignment, it has identified and defined opportunities to heighten their existing infrastructure and country knowledge across the emerging markets.
Standard Bank also upholds high standard of corporate and high governance and is committed in the practice of sustainable developments and advancing principles. The success of the Standard Bank is dependent on the kind of services in the communities and areas in which they operate.
In recent years, Standard Bank has concluded many key acquisitions in Kenya, Argentina, Turkey and Nigeri, for the consolidation of the bank’s position in targeted geographic markets. Standard Bank also recently announced that its force will be entering to a strategic partnership with Troika Dialog. Under this partnership, through regulatory approvals the Standard Bank intends to become a 33% share holder in Troika Dialog. The Troika Dialog is the most independent and the most established investment bank in Russia.
The partnership of the two biggest banks in China and Africa, Standard Bank and the Industrial Commercial Bank of China will generate essential and significant cooperation benefits and a new capacity for growth in the years to come.
With current planned Standard Bank operations, it is expected that the bank will offer improved benefits and financial services.