Exclusive-Zambia’s SEC sanctions Standard Chartered over China property bond mis-selling, source says

Lusaka: So, here’s the scoop. Zambia’s Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has put the heat on Standard Chartered. They found the bank mis-sold bonds from a Chinese property company to a local client. This happened during a tough time for the real estate market in China.

The SEC’s investigation kicked off back in April. They discovered that Standard Chartered didn’t share important info about these bonds, which were sold in March 2022. Fast forward a year, and those bonds are practically worthless now. Ouch!

On top of that, the SEC flagged some sneaky contract clauses that put all the risk on the client. That’s a big no-no according to Zambia’s rules. Standard Chartered has said they respect the SEC’s decision but plan to appeal. They’re looking to clear things up and stay compliant with the law.

The SEC can dish out fines or reprimands, but they can’t force the bank to pay back customers. As for what kind of penalty Standard Chartered might face, that’s still up in the air. The bank has been around in Zambia for nearly 120 years, but they’re now looking to sell their wealth and retail banking operations there, along with businesses in Botswana and Uganda. It seems they’re scaling back their presence in Africa overall.