Standard Chartered plans to sell its business in Jordan to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB)

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Standard Chartered entered an agreement with Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) to sell its corporate, commercial and institutional banking, consumer lending and private banking businesses in Jordan.

All Standard Chartered Bank employees in the country will be also transferred to AJIB. The two banks promise to work closely in the coming months to provide a seamless transition for both clients and employees.

The deal is aligned with the bank’s global strategy to “redirect resources within the Africa Middle East region to areas with the greatest potential”. Namely, Standard Chartered had previously announced it planned to leave seven less prospective markets: Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, AJIB aims to grow its market share in the country. The lender acquired HSBC’s banking business in Jordan in 2014 and the National Bank of Kuwait’s banking business in Jordan in 2022.

AJIB Chairman Hani Al-Qadi also added?the?agreement had already been approved by the regulatory authorities.

In February, Standard Chartered Bank and Singapore-based Allinpay made PayNow’s instant cross-border payments feature available to merchants and businesses in Hong Kong. With this move, the financial institution currently has access to more than 20 instant payment infrastructures around the world.