Standard Chartered Bank was formed in the year 1969 by merging two distinct banks, Standard Bank of British South Africa and Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China.These banks had capitalized on the expansion of trade between Europe, Asia and Africa.Standard Bank was founded in London in 1862 by John Paterson of the Cape Colony in South Africa, and began operations in Port Elizabeth the following year.The bank was prominent in funding the development of the Kimberley diamond fields from the 1870s. It later expanded its network further north to the new city of Johannesburg, when gold was discovered in 1886.The bank expanded in southern, central and eastern Africa and had 600 offices in 1953.In 1965, it merged with the Bank of West Africa, expanding its operations in Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.In 1987 Standard Chartered Bank sold its stake in Standard Bank, which now operates as a separate entity.Bank info