daniel chigunweEnacy Mapakame
Standard Chartered Bank has officially exited the Zimbabwe market after completing the transaction with FBC Holdings over the weekend.
The banking group, which was the first commercial bank in Zimbabwe, has been in the country for over a century.
Over the weekend, the bank carried out the transition exercise onboarding clients onto FBC platforms.
The bank notified its customers of the exercise which took place from May 17 to 19.
Products and services at SCBZ were migrated to the new bank during the two-day migration period.
Account numbers, insurance policies, relationship or branch manager, call centre and contact centre numbers, stop orders, power of attorneys and mandates will remain the same.
The distribution of rebranded ATM cards was also carried out during the weekend with Zimpost opening its branches across cities throughout the weekend to carry out the exercise.
A visit to the Standard Chartered Bank of Zimbabwe website now states that the banking group has no operations in Zimbabwe, and directs clients to FBC platforms.
Standard Chartered PLC announced in April 2022 its decision to divest from several markets, among them Zimbabwe. As a result, SCBZ Limited was put up for sale and FBCH purchased with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Registrar of Banking Institutions approving the transaction.
FBCH has indicated it expects to complete the acquisition of 100 percent shareholding in SCBZ in the second half of the year as it has received most of the necessary regulatory approvals and is working towards fulfilling conditions precedent to the acquisition.
It is against this background and in line with FBCH’s strategy of continuously growing the business organically and through mergers and acquisitions if opportunities arise that FBCH board in a meeting held in June 2022 resolved to submit a bid for the acquisition of SCBZ.
“During the period under review, the shareholders of FBC Holdings Limited approved the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank’s operations in Zimbabwe. The group has subsequently received most of the necessary regulatory approvals and is working towards fulfilling conditions precedent to the acquisition.
“The complete takeover of the business is expected in the second half of the year,” said FBCH chairman Herbert Nkala in an update for the year to December 2023.
FBCH has also added it anticipates a seamless integration of operations and reporting in the second half of 2024.
The transition has come with its hurdles, from service disruptions to staff disgruntlement. One of the thorny issues include lack of consultation with staff, and failure to meet the pledges made to employees prompting the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (ZIBAWU) to step in.
A letter from the workers’ union to the bank expressed concerns in the manner in which the bank has handled the transition.
“We have seen the letters you have written to all our members without any discussions and in the most oppressive terms.
“It is our view that such colonial labour relations legacy no longer has room in a constitutional democracy whose labour relations are founded upon social justice and democracy at the workplace.
“Our laws demands that you consult the Works Council on such matter(s) before implementation to allow workers to share their input.
“We, therefore, demand that you withdraw your oppressive terms of transfer and immediately engage the Works Council as per the provisions of the Labour Act,” said ZIBAWU in a letter dated May 10.
ZIBAWU had earlier in March contacted the bank’s management in South Africa registering displeasure at the manner the group was handling employees on the transfer to FBCH, after failure by local management to respond to the highlighted concerns.
The issues raised included leave days, gratuity and pension.
Bongani Ndlovu