Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) has planned to double its business size of retail banking in Bangladesh within next five years, a top executive of the bank said.
“We’re working to double our retail banking business size in Bangladesh by 2020,” Sebastian Arcuri, regional head for retail banking in ASEAN and South Asia of SCB, said in an exclusive interview with the FE Thursday.
Currently, Mr Arcuri is overseeing the bank’s retail business in 11 countries such as Singapore, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
He arrived in Dhaka Wednesday night on a brief visit to Bangladesh.
During his stay, Mr Arcuri met senior officials of Standard Chartered Bank. It was his maiden visit to Bangladesh.
As part of the plan, SCB will put emphasis on small and medium enterprises (SME) sector to help achieve maximum economic growth in Bangladesh.
“We’ll also extend financing in the SME sector that would help create employment opportunity across the country,” the SCB executive said while replying to a query.
SCB is celebrating 110 years in Bangladesh this year.
“We are proud to have the largest high-value segment customer base in the country, and several generations in the same family are banking with us. With continuous innovation in products and solutions, our bank has been the pioneer in retail banking of Bangladesh,” Mr Arcuri noted.
SCB also plans to keep on bringing new products and services to the existing and potential valued customers to be their bank of choice.
He said SCB has planned to introduce a new online solution in Bangladesh for opening new account within five minutes by 2016.
At present, SCB is providing such solution in South Korea for opening accounts.
“We’re now working to introduce such solution in Bangladesh within the stipulated time,” Aditya Mandloi, head of retail clients of the bank’s Bangladesh operation, told the FE while elaborating preparations in this regard.
Regarding the latest market activities, the regional retail banking head said emerging markets are moving faster in terms of digital and smartphone adoption, leapfrogging compared to more mature markets.
“We’re revamping digital platform so that clients can do on mobile phones and online everything previously done in a branch where possible,” he explained.
Mr Sebastian Arcuri joined the UK-based foreign commercial bank in 2014. Earlier, he worked with HSBC Brazil as an executive director and head of retail banking and wealth management, and president of HSBC Insurance in the country.
Banking is a cyclical business. Currently facing challenges, but SCB has resilience and diversification to respond, according to the senior banker.
“Focus on the key clients, the emerging affluent and investment in products, new branches, better technology. Here for good – here for our clients for the long run – this will keep the bank going through the short-term cycles,” he noted.
SCB is now focused on the fastest-growing cities in the world, which are in footprint of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
“We are client-segment focused so we can address clients’ needs from a life-cycle approach. We are investing heavily in technology to be digital by design so we can deliver easy, convenient banking through whatever channel the client prefers, whenever the client wants it. The future can only be better,” Mr Arcuri observed.
Standard Chartered has already made a series of key hires to step up the growth of its retail client business across the world.
