Standard Chartered remains committed to Bahrain, although it continues to review its businesses across various markets as part of its new strategy, the bank’s Dubai-based spokesman said

Bloomberg/Dubai

Standard Chartered, the British bank that generates most of its revenue in Asia, plans to exit from its small and medium-enterprise lending business in Bahrain, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
The lender aims to close the business gradually over the next two years and may move some of its larger SME clients to the corporate banking segment, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Standard Chartered remains committed to Bahrain, although it continues to review its businesses across various markets as part of its new strategy, Ramy Lawand, the bank’s Dubai-based spokesman, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Standard Chartered is scaling back after two years of lower profit amid slower growth in Asia. A slump in the shares has led to a shakeup in top management, with chairman John Peace; chief executive officer Peter Sands; Asia head Jaspal Bindra and Viswanathan Shankar, head of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas, all leaving the bank or set to do so.
Standard Chartered is seeking to sell its retail banking business in Oman, where it has three branches and employs about 100 people, three people with knowledge of the matter said last month. The bank also decided to reverse a decision to exit from its Islamic retail business in Bahrain after facing regulatory hurdles, said the people, without giving further details.
The bank’s CEO for Bahrain, Hassan Jarrar, is leaving to head Bahrain Islamic Bank, two people with knowledge of the matter said in April. Standard Chartered confirmed Jarrar’s departure.
Standard Chartered abandoned a plan to sell about $400mn of small- and medium-sized corporate loans in the UAE in October, people with knowledge of the matter said at the time. The bank said in August that it was exiting most of its SME business in the UAE after the New York Department of Financial Services fined it $300mn on finding its anti-money laundering controls to be inadequate.