Standard Chartered’s affiliate in South Africa had performed inconsistently in the 1980s, but was for the most part a profitable venture. Growing political pressure to divest South African holdings caused the bank some unrest. Standard Chartered was reluctant to sell its 39% interest in the bank at the unfavorable exchange rate of the time and take a large loss. Finally, in 1987 the bank divested its South African holdings, ending its 125-year presence in that nation. It was the last foreign bank to leave South Africa.
In 1986, London saw an explosion of mergers and acquisitions among banks with the financial deregulation known as the “Big Bang.” Standard Chartered became the target of a takeover by Lloyds Bank, which Standard Chartered’s chief executive, Michael Me William, was determined to prevent. The purchase of 35% of Standard Chartered’s shares by three businessmen helped to thwart the Lloyds bid. Standard Chartered received a thrashing in the British press when it became known that one of its white knights, Tan Sri Khoo, had received a large loan from the bank just before he invested in its shares, but the bank called for an investigation to clear its name and was vindicated by the Bank of England a year later.