StanChart launches report on socio-economic impact

Standard Chartered Bank has released an independent study on the social and economic impact of its operations in Africa, looking at its contributions to the promotion of trade and employment opportunities in host countries.

The study on the theme: Banking on Africa was conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia and aimed to establish the contribution of Standard Chartered Bank to the socio-economic development in these countries.

The independent impact analysis of the Banks activities was conducted by Professor Ethan Kapstein, a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Global Development in Washington DC and Dr Ren Kim, founding partner of environment, social and governance consulting firm Steward Redqueen.

It was based on the banks performance in 2012. In Ghana, the study found out that Standard Chartered Bank contributed $ 1.4 billion of value to Ghana's economy, which is equivalent to 3.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

The Bank has also helped to create 283,000 jobs related to the Bank's activity, representing 2.7 per cent of Ghana's labour force. Also, the study found that direct salary, taxes and profits to locals amounted to US million in value.

Overall on the African continent, Standard Charted Bank supports about 1.9 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa, equivalent to around 0.6 per cent of the region's total workforce.

It also contributes $ 10.7 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa's economy, equivalent to 1.2 per cent of the region's GDP and supports Sub-Saharan trade worth $ 7.2 billion, equivalent to 1.2 per cent of the region's total international trade. Standard Chartered Bank supports USD1.8 billion of tax payments to governments in Sub-Saharan Africa, equivalent to 1.1 per cent of total receipts of governments in the region.

The study also touched on the lead role of the bank in enhancing the use of technology and innovation to meet the needs of customers and enhance access to financial services.

In markets like Ghana and Kenya the bank was the first to introduce interest swaps, currency and interest rate hedging. It also launched the first ever digital branches in Ghana and Kenya.

Commenting on the study, Mr Kweku Bedu-Addo, Managing Director of StanChart Ghana said the report traces the myriad of ways in which the bank supported economic development in Ghana.

He said through the initiative the bank was determined to show to the public its contribution to the country in real quantitative terms and the move away from the anecdotes. Mr Bedu-Addo said the bank would draw lessons from the study with the view to deepening its impact in the Ghanaian market.