Standard Chartered Bank: Gov’t Expresses Concern Over Lack Of Clarity In Transaction For Access Bank To Take Over Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon

Minister of Labour and Social Security assures that Gov’t will do everything to protect the interest of current employees of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, in the takeover deal  

The Cameroon Government is worried with some rather opaque areas that have appeared in the ongoing transaction between Standard Chartered Bank of the United Kingdom and Access Bank of Nigeria, for the latter to take over the subsidiary of the former in Cameroon, known as Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, which was created in 1986.

It should be recalled that on July 14, 2023, a press release was issued in London, United Kingdom, which announced that Standard Chartered Bank had entered a sale agreement with Access Bank Plc, to take over some subsidiaries of Standard Chartered in Africa.

The press release stated that: “Standard Chartered Bank and Access Bank Plc  have entered into an agreement for the sale of Standard Chartered‘s shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia and Sierra Leone, and its Consumer, Private and Business Banking businesses in Tanzania. Each transaction remains subject to the approval of the respective local regulators and the banking regular in Nigeria”.

The press release further stated that the announcement was made at Standard Chartered Bank’s headquarters in London on that day, in the presence of senior representatives from both banks, and was signed by Sunil Kaushai, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered, and Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc.  “The agreement with Access for the sale of the bank’s businesses in Sub – Sahara Africa in line with Standard Chartered‘s global strategy, is aimed at achieving operational efficiencies, reducing complexity, and driving scale”., the press release explained.

However so far, Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon has continued operation, and it is not known at what level the mother company in London and the Access Bank Nigeria, are in the transaction or the sale agreement deal. It is not also known whether Access Bank Plc will fuse Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon into its subsidiary in Cameroon, that is, Access Bank Cameroon, or it will operate it separately as an affiliate or subsidiary of Access Bank.

Labour Medals While Waiting

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Gregoire Owona, was in Douala recently to preside over a medal award ceremony.Some 43 meritorious workers of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, which currently has as General Manager, Idrissa Kamara, received Labour medals.  A total of 65 medals were awarded, and amongst them 15 gold medals. Worth noting, that a gold medal is for an employee that has put in at least 25 years of service to an enterprise. It should be noted that the recent medal award ceremony at Standard Charted Bank Cameroon, was definitely the last of such a ceremony in the history of the bank in Cameroon, considering that the arrangement underway for Access Bank to buy,, and thus takeover, the Cameroon subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank. That was why the management of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, thought it wise to organize  the medal award ceremony, despite the fact that it comes at a period of uncertainty in  the minds of many workers.

When An Enterprise Changes Hands

Meanwhile at one point in his address at the ceremony, the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Gregoire Owona, stepped away from all the beautiful and joyful words, praise singings and so on, that usually characterized medal award ceremonies, to address an issue which in reality is very important to the workers, as it has to do with their future. The minister recalled the evolution of the Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, and especially the decision that was adopted in 2023 by shareholders of the mother company, Standard Chartered Bank UK, to sell some of the bank’s subsidiaries, including Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon. As concerns Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, the transaction for the sales or takeover deal between the mother company, Standard Chartered Bank UK, and Access Bank Nigeria, is still ongoing.

But Minister Gregoire Owona, expressed Government’s concern over the opacity, or better still the lack of clarity in some aspect of the ongoing arrangement, for the proprietorship of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon to change hands. He said this was unfortunately the case, despite the fact, that everything was done on the part of Government, to ensure that there is no dark or unclear spot in the arrangement. The minister stated for example that till now, the employees of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon are not yet clear on their future. Minister Owona cited Article 42, which states that when an enterprise changes hands, an employee can demand to leave or to stay on. He stressed the fact that it is not the new proprietor that decides alone on whether an employee should stay or leave. Both the new proprietor and the worker are supposed to talk and reach a compromise. The minister also cited Article 32 which states that in a situation where a worker decides to leaves an enterprise, when a new proprietor takes over, all his rights have to be paid.

Gov’t To Do All To Protect Workers

This was definitely a message of caution by the Cameroon Government to Standard Charted Bank and Access Bank, that have in their transaction so far left the employees of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon in the dark as regard their future, that they will not force a decision on any worker as to whether he should stay or leave, for the Law protects workers. In other words,  Standard Chartered Bank UK and Access Bank Nigeria, will have to also listen to the decision of each and every employee of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon, for the person to say whether he or she wants to leave or stay on, and then they all strike a compromise.

The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Gregoire Owona, assured that Government will do everything to ensure that employees of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon are protected, in the transaction between the Standard Chartered Bank UK and Access Bank Nigeria, for the Nigerian bank to takeover Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon.

By Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)

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