Standard Chartered has reportedly told some United Arab Emirates small and medium enterprise customers it is closing their accounts. However, it will focus more on other activities including private banking.

Standard Chartered has told thousands of United Arab Emirates small and medium enterprise customers it is closing their accounts in reaction to moves by US regulators to cut risks amid an anti-money laundering settlement.

"We regret to notify you that Standard Chartered Bank will no longer be able to provide banking services to you, and your account(s) will be closed 30 days from the date of this letter," the bank has told clients in a letter.

The letter has angered UAE customers, who say they have not been given enough time to close their accounts, media reports said.
After being contacted by this publication, Standard Chartered sent over the following statement: “As announced previously, the Group has decided to exit part of its SME business in the UAE as part of its broader efforts to sharpen its strategic focus, exiting non-strategic businesses, including those where increased regulatory costs could undermine their economic viability.

“The Bank will retain a select number of clients from this segment in the UAE; those will now be serviced under our newly created Commercial Clients segment. This newly formed segment looks at banking mid sized enterprises with annual sales turnover in the range of $10 million up to $150 million with a strategic focus on clients that will trade, expand and invest across Asia, Africa and the Middle East."  It continued: “The UAE remains one of Standard Chartered’s leading franchises globally and the move allows the Bank to reposition itself for further growth by focusing its efforts on Corporate and Institutional, Commercial, Private Banking, Retail and Islamic Banking."

The bank added: “We are making every effort to ensure that any inconvenience for those clients impacted is minimised and have set up a dedicated contact centre, provided clients with a detailed exit guide and a set of FAQs that minimise confusion and answer our clients’ queries transparently.”

A Reuters report said that under a settlement agreed with the New York State Department of Financial Services in August, Standard Chartered was fined $300 million and given 90 days to end high-risk relationships with SMEs in the UAE and suspend processing of dollar-denominated payments for some clients at its Hong Kong unit.

The UAE central bank said in August that between 1,400 and 8,000 Standard Chartered accounts in the country were expected to be affected by the US settlement.