Standard Bank is a South African multinational bank, though its origins trace back to London, where the historic Standard Bank of British South Africa was founded in 1862.
The Standard Bank Group operates in 21 African countries, alongside four global financial hubs—Dubai, New York, Beijing, and London—and two offshore centres in the Isle of Man and Jersey.
The Group is led by Group Chief Executive Sim Tshabalala and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its shares are listed on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE: SBK) and the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX: SNB).
The Group’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) strategy builds on more than two decades of presence in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The new representative office in Egypt complements this strategy by positioning Standard Bank to capitalize on the growing trade and investment flows between the Gulf region and sub-Saharan Africa, while strengthening support for its clients operating along these dynamic corridors.
Standard Bank connects Africa with select emerging markets and major global capital centres, enabling balanced and diversified growth across its business portfolio.
As of 30 June, Standard Bank Group reported total assets of $191.8 billion, serving 19.2 million customers and employing more than 50,000 people (including Liberty staff). The Group operates over 1,180 points of representation and more than 5,400 ATMs across the African continent.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)—the world’s largest bank—is Standard Bank’s largest shareholder, holding a 19.7 percent equity stake.
Standard Bank and ICBC maintain a strategic partnership aimed at facilitating trade and investment flows between Africa, China, and select emerging markets.
With a heritage spanning more than 163 years in South Africa, Standard Bank began expanding beyond the southern African region in the early 1990s. In several markets, the Group operates under the Stanbic Bank brand.
In 1992, Standard Bank acquired ANZ Grindlays Bank’s operations in eight African countries—Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—subsequently rebranding them as Stanbic Bank to distinguish them from Standard Chartered Bank, the Group’s former major shareholder and current competitor in Africa
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