• Bank records $10 million loss from sale of Cameroon and Gambia units.

• Exit cuts $300 million in risk-weighted assets.

• Move aligns with strategy to focus on higher-return corridors.

Standard Chartered reported a $10 million loss in 2025 following the sale of its operations in Cameroon and The Gambia to Nigeria’s Access Holdings, according to the British bank’s annual report published February 24.

The bank recorded a $5 million loss in Cameroon and another $5 million in The Gambia.

Despite the accounting loss, the exit reduced the group’s risk exposure. The divestment from Cameroon alone cut $300 million in risk-weighted assets within its Corporate & Investment Banking division, Standard Chartered said. The reduction strengthens capital ratios and frees up capital for activities the bank considers more strategic.

The losses in 2025 were significantly smaller than those incurred in 2024 during other withdrawals. That year, Standard Chartered recorded a $172 million loss linked to its exit from Zimbabwe, largely driven by foreign exchange effects, as well as a $26 million loss in Angola.

The divestments form part of a broader geographic refocus strategy under way for several years. The British lender has been scaling back from markets viewed as non-core in order to concentrate on international banking corridors linking Africa to Asia and the Middle East, segments it sees as more profitable.

Following the latest exits, Standard Chartered now operates in 11 key African markets, including Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Mauritius.

The group is expected to outline the next phase of its growth strategy in May 2026 during an investor update.

Sandrine Gaingne