Standard Bank is the largest of the four major banks headquartered in South Africa. Since its foundation in 1862, Standard Bank has established itself as a household name and is one of the most recognised brands in the country. The bank is a public company listed on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and on the Namibian Stock exchange. In 2008, ICBC, the International Commercial Bank of China purchased a 20% share of Standard Bank. The bank had total assets of over R1 333 billion (approximately $172 billion) at 30 June 2009 and employs more than 50,000 people worldwide. The three main pillars of business are Personal and Business Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth. Personal and Business Banking (PBB) provides banking and other financial services to individual customers and small to medium sized enterprises in South Africa, the rest of Africa, and Argentina. The group contributes around 34% of the Standard Bank Group’s earnings. A Centralised Operations area consists of just under 5,000 people, and is responsible for all aspects of operations within PBB. A Performance Measurement Capability within Business Operations is responsible for the measurement of people and process.

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In comparison with other banks (Absa, FirstRand, and Nedbank), use Standard Bank as an example, discuss how the Bank can gain competitive advantage through experience differentiation.