Standard Chartered Bank’s Thai unit offloads retail banking arm to Tisco Bank and All-Ways
Standard Chartered's Thai unit has agreed to offload its retail banking business to Tisco Bank and All-Ways Company, both units of Thai group Tisco Financial.
The move continues chief executive Bill Winters' plan to boost earnings through restructuring. Standard Chartered announced in November last year that it would divest businesses that lacked a competitive advantage in a bid to raise returns.
The chief executive of Bangkok-listed Tisco Bank, Oranuch Aphisaksirikul told a news conference he expects a loan growth of 15 per cent next year, after transferring Standard Chartered's Thai business.
Read more: A wintery warning from StanChart's boss that things aren't "acceptable"
Standard Chartered's Thai retail banking business net asset value is about 5.5m Thai baht (£123m), Tisco Financial said in a note to Thailand's stock exchange.
The transfer will take place once the Bank of Thailand and Tisco, All-Ways and Standard Chartered Bank Thailand shareholders give it the green light.
Read more: Standard Chartered share price drops on US bribery probe
Plakorn Wanglee, chief executive of Thailand and representative offices at Standard Chartered Bank said:
While our retail banking business in Thailand is of high quality, it has insufficient scale and it has become increasingly difficult to achieve the returns that we aspire to.
It is after careful consideration that we have agreed to transfer the retail banking business to Tisco.
Last month, Standard Chartered met all its hurdle rates in the Bank of England's stress test but failed to reach the minimum capital requirement.