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Tag: Standard Chartered

  • Standard Chartered Strengthens UAE Private Banking Team for Enhanced Client Service

    Standard Chartered Strengthens UAE Private Banking Team for Enhanced Client Service

    The private banking division of Standard Chartered is ramping up its presence in the UAE with a series of notable new hires in a move that underscores the region’s burgeoning wealth landscape. The bank has appointed Yahya Ismail as managing director and market head for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Bringing over 25 years of expertise, Ismail has spent the last two decades immersed in private wealth management roles at prestigious firms like Julius Baer and ABN AMRO.

    Emerging Wealth in the Middle East

    “The Middle East is growing at an extraordinary pace, with the UAE in particular experiencing rapid growth in wealth creation among high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals who increasingly seek bespoke, cross-border financial solutions for wealth preservation, intergenerational transfers, and sustainable growth,” noted Vinay Gandhi, the global head of the South Asian community and regional head of EMEA at the private bank.

    A Stronger Team for Enhanced Client Care

    Ismail now leads a powerhouse team that includes Laura Haddad, appointed as senior client partner responsible for GCC UHNW clients, alongside Samia Shahnawaz as executive director and relationship manager. Additional key players include Ramla Mansukhani and Lakshmi Menon, who serve as relationship and client service managers, respectively. Haddad brings two decades of experience at firms like Credit Agricole and Citibank, while Shahnawaz boasts a similar wealth of experience in private and institutional banking.

    Investing in Future Growth

    This latest expansion is part of Standard Chartered’s ambitious plan to inject $1.5 billion into its affluent business over the next five years. “As one of the Bank’s wealth hubs, the UAE plays a pivotal role in Standard Chartered’s global strategy. We are dedicated to enhancing our talent pool, providing tailor-made client solutions, and diversifying our product offerings to meet the evolving needs of our HNW and UHNW clients,” Gandhi added, hinting that the private banking sector may soon see a flurry of innovation and bespoke services aimed at high-end clientele.

    In a region known for its luxury lifestyles, can you imagine the tailored experiences these banking professionals will bring to their high-flying clients? The sky is not just the limit; it’s merely a starting point.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the role of Yahya Ismail at Standard Chartered? Ismail is appointed as managing director and market head for EMEA, overseeing the bank’s private banking operations in the region.

    Why is the UAE significant for Standard Chartered’s strategy? The UAE is considered a key wealth hub, prompting Standard Chartered to actively invest in talent and resources to cater to the growing HNW and UHNW client base.

    How much is Standard Chartered investing in its affluent business? The bank plans to invest $1.5 billion in its affluent business over the next five years.

  • Standard Chartered cuts Vietnam growth forecast to 6.5%

    Standard Chartered cuts Vietnam growth forecast to 6.5%

    Standard Chartered has reduced Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.7 percentage points to 6.5%.

    In a release Thursday the British bank said it amended the forecast it had made in January of 7.2% growth after considering external factors more carefully with Vietnam’s macro indicators slowing down in the last four months.

    Exports have declined by 11.8% year-on-year, and the trade surplus is US$6.4 billion. Inflation for April was 2.8%, the third consecutive month of decline, though core inflation – not including food and energy prices — was 4.6% as retail sales jumped by 11.5%.

    FDI fell by 17.9% to $8.9 billion. Imports decreased by 15.4% year-on-year.

    “Vietnam imports a lot, so import indicators going down considerably shows that economic activity is slowing down despite strong domestic consumption”, Tim Leelahaphan, the bank’s economist for Thailand and Vietnam, said.

    Many other international financial institutions have also adjusted their Vietnam growth forecasts downward.

    The IMF has reduced it from 6.2% to 5.8%, the World Bank from 6.7% to 6.3%, and the ADB from 6.7% to 6.5%.

    Vietnam’s economic growth this year is likely to be constrained by the global economic downturn, monetary tightening in developed countries, rising commodity prices, and geopolitical issues.

    The government targets 6.5% growth, but there are challenges ahead with the GDP only growing by an annualized 3.32% in the first quarter.

    Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung expressed concern about growth at a recent meeting, saying to achieve the target the economy needs to grow at 6.7%, 7.5% and 7.9% in the next three quarters.

    Standard Chartered predicted that the State Bank of Vietnam would reduce the refinancing rate by 0.5 percentage points to 5% by the end of the second quarter and maintain that rate until the end of 2025.

    But it did not rule a hike in rates, especially towards the end of the year, due to the possibility of the central bank focusing more on stability than growth.

    “Since the start of 2023 the SBV has turned to supporting the economy’s recovery,” Leelahaphan said.

    “Besides cutting interest rates, it also helped struggling businesses by giving them more time to deal with illiquidity.”

    Since April loan terms have become easier, with banks rolling over debts for up to 12 months and cutting interest rates.

    But the real estate market needs more support, with all measures taken until now only helping relieve short-term loan repayment pressure, he added.

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  • Standard Chartered sees Vietnam inflation higher than central bank forecast

    Standard Chartered sees Vietnam inflation higher than central bank forecast

    Standard Chartered Bank expects inflation of 4.2 percent this year, slightly higher than the central bank forecast, driven by the geopolitical situation and higher commodity prices.

    “Over the medium term, demand-push inflationary factors are likely to kick in as the economy recovers,” the lender said in a note, adding that supply-side factors pose upside risks to inflation, particularly given the ongoing geopolitical situation.

    It forecasts a further increase in the rate next year to 5.5 percent.

    The State Bank of Vietnam targets inflation of not more than 4 percent this year.

    Prices rose by 1.8 percent last year, the lowest rate in six years.

    The Asian Development Bank this month forecast Vietnam’s inflation to hit 3.8 percent this year and 4 percent next year, pointing to the instability in global oil prices.

    Standard Chartered was confident about Vietnam’s growth potential, forecasting GDP growth of 6.7 percent this year (2.6 percent last year), saying the recent bounce in economic indicators have become more broad-based.

    Tim Leelahaphan, the bank’s economist for Thailand and Vietnam, said: “The government lifted its quarantine requirement for international arrivals in mid-March. We think the reopening of tourism, which accounts for close to 10 percent of GDP, is the key development to watch in the second quarter after a two-year closure.”

    Vietnam remains a manufacturing hub and a key link in the global supply chain despite geopolitical and pandemic-related challenges, the bank said.

    FDI started recovering this year after contracting last year, and the bank expects this to continue, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, electricity and gas,.

    Several major global tech companies have shifted (or plan to shift) production to Vietnam from China in recent years to diversify their supply chains, Leelahaphan added.

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  • Standard Chartered Private Bank Loses Managing Director

    Standard Chartered Private Bank Loses Managing Director

    Standard Chartered has lost a managing director and senior private banker in Hong Kong.

    Phoebe Chow has left Standard Chartered Private Bank, sources said after more than four years with the British lender.

    When contacted, a spokesperson for the bank declined to comment on the exit.

    Chow joined Standard Chartered Private Bank in 2017 to oversee various client markets including the Philippines and Taiwan. Previously, she was a Singapore-based team leader at Credit Suisse where she worked for more than eight years.

    Standard Chartered’s private banking arm has effectively fallen under a new structure this year after it merged with retail banking and wealth management into a single consumer, private and business banking (CPBB) unit.

    Standard Chartered Private Bank was under the watch of CPBB chief executive Judy Hsu after its former head Dider von Daeniken left last year until the recent replacement hire of ex-UBS banker Raymond Ang two months ago.

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  • Standard Chartered to Offload Office Space in Singapore

    Standard Chartered to Offload Office Space in Singapore

    Standard Chartered bank is reportedly considering slashing office space in the Singapore business district, where it occupies 21 floors at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1.

    While plans are under discussion and subject to change, sources told «Bloomberg» that the bank is weighing several options, including cutting 80,000 square feet, or four floors of offices.

    Another option is to shed half of the 420,000 square feet it currently occupies or retaining just four floors – the minimum required for the bank to keep its logo on the building’s facade, the report said.

    The downsizing follows similar moves in Hong Kong, where it is giving up the lease on eight floors of its Standard Chartered Bank Building in the central business district, and renting out three floors it owns from its offices in the industrial district of Kwun Tong.

    The move also falls in line with the bank’s plans to permanently offer flexible work options to around 90 percent of its 85,000 employees around the world by 2023. Some 80 percent of its employees in Singapore currently work from home, the bank said.

    Standard Chartered is planning to optimize the use of its office space by and cater to the wellness of its staff by providing amenities such as gyms, according to the report. A large number of staff also work out of a facility at Changi Business Park, where it opened a learning hub in December 2020 to boost its workforce.

    Other banks that have permanently shed space in Singapore include DBS, which will give up 75,000 square feet of space – about two and a half floors out of the more than a dozen floors it occupies at Tower 3 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre; Citi, which is offloading three floors; and Mizuho, which is cutting less than one floor of office space.

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  • Standard Chartered Grows Digital Payments Proposition

    Standard Chartered Grows Digital Payments Proposition

    The bank is doubling down on its commitment to the payments industry with its investment in a global cross-border payments platform. SC Ventures, the innovation, ventures and fintech investments unit of Standard Chartered bank, has made a strategic investment in Ireland-based CurrencyFair, it announced in a statement.

    As a result of the investment, CurrencyFair will merge with Assembly Payments, an Australia-based platform that automates complex payment workflows, which is invested into in 2020. The combined entity will offer the full range of payment services, providing retail and corporate clients access to fast, high-volume domestic and cross-border payments, the announcement said.

    The announcement highlighted a $2 trillion revenue market for payments, citing figures by McKinsey & Company, as well as an increasingly complex global cross-border business payments market.

    Paul Byrne, CEO of CurrencyFair, will lead the merged business, which will focus on payments, global payment accounts, partner ecosystem, lending and settlement, and services.

  • Standard Chartered Joins BlackRock’s Provider Network

    Standard Chartered Joins BlackRock’s Provider Network

    The bank will offer integrated front-to-back office investment management solutions to mutual clients across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East on the Aladdin platform.

    Standard Chartered has become the latest bank to ink a strategic partnership with BlackRock’s «Aladdin» provider network, a platform that helps assets managers check risk in their portfolios, trade, manage data management, and other operational tasks.

    The alliance builds on Standard Chartered’s ongoing relationship with BlackRock, leveraging the focus both organizations have on innovation and digitization and is part of the Bank’s longer-term strategic partnership with the global asset manager to provide an enhanced experience for our institutional clients, Standard Chartered said in an announcement on Wednesday.

    Aladdin – or asset, liability, debt, and derivatives investment network – was conceived by the New York-based firm in the late 1990s as an internal tool. Today, it is one of Blackrock’s most powerful tech tools that it sells to smaller rivals, in a bid to stave off pressure on its active management fund arm from cheaper index funds. Credit Suisse and HSBC adopted the platform in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

    Akiyoshi Takeuchi, head of BlackRock Solutions Asia-Pacific, said Standard Chartered’s adoption of the platform «underscores growing momentum in bringing innovative solutions deeper into emerging markets throughout Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.»

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  • Standard Chartered Grows CCIB Unit in Singapore

    Standard Chartered Grows CCIB Unit in Singapore

    The bank has made a pair of Singapore-based senior appointments to its Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (CCIB) segment as it increases its focuses on growing this business.

    Former regional head of client coverage, CCIB, ASEAN and South Asia, Chow Wan Thonh, has been named global head of the bank’s Global Industries Group, Standard Chartered announced in a statement on Thursday.

    Chow joined the bank in 2019, bringing with her over 25 years of experience in the banking industry, having held a number of senior leadership roles in international banks supporting corporate and institutional clients.

    At the same time, Heidi Toribio, who joined the bank in 2013, will replace Chow as Asia co-head of client coverage. She was most recently the bank’s global head of financial institutions. Toribio counts 25 years of banking experience, having previously worked at international banks in a variety of management positions.

    Standard Chartered said the pair have played a key role in accelerating the growth of its CCIB business in Singapore and globally.

    Paul Skelton, Global Head of Client Coverage in CCIB, said in the announcement that corporates’ financing needs are rapidly evolving, as businesses navigate uncertainties while seeking new growth opportunities

  • Standard Chartered Appoints Chief Investment Officer

    Standard Chartered Appoints Chief Investment Officer

    Standard Chartered promotes a 25-year financial markets veteran internally to become its chief investment officer based in Singapore, according to an internal memo.

    Standard Chartered appoints Steve Brice as its new chief investment officer, according to an internal memo, as well as head of the discretionary portfolio management division.

    He will lead 25 investment professionals and chair the bank’s global investment committee which forms cross-asset investment views for the private and retail banking segments.

    A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the appointment.

    Brice is a longstanding Standard Chartered employee, spending 23 of his 25 years in the industry with the bank beginning in 1998. He was previously its Southeast Asia chief economist; head of research for the Middle East and South Asia; and South Africa head of global markets.

    Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he began his financial career with London-based consultant IDEA where he was its regional head of FX for Europe.

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  • Standard Chartered Receives Enhanced Privileges in Singapore

    Standard Chartered Receives Enhanced Privileges in Singapore

    The recognition comes on the back of the U.K.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, signed on Thursday.

    The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) enhanced Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank (SRFB) privileges, in recognition of the significantly higher degree of rootedness that exceeds the SRFB baseline criteria.

    As part of the U.K.-Singapore FTA, Standard Chartered will be entitled to additional customer service locations on top of the 50 it is entitled to as an SRFB.

    The enhanced SRFB privileges also give Standard Chartered the opportunity to secure an additional full bank license to establish a subsidiary to operate new or alternative business models such as a digital-led bank with ecosystem partners, which it has been planning as part of a joint venture with National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) Enterprise.

    Standard Chartered’s roots in Singapore trace back over 160 years when it set up its first branch in 1859 under its former name, Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China.

    Singapore is now the group’s operational hub, housing global businesses, technology and operations, and many of the bank’s leadership teams. The country is also home to SC Ventures, the bank’s innovation, ventures and fintech investments unit. The bank also plans to grow its international wealth business in Singapore and has invested S$8 million to train and upskill its workforce in the city-state.

    We have invested and grown in Singapore to be the global business and operations hub that we are today, and we look forward to playing our part in developing the country’s banking landscape, Bill Winters, Standard Chartered group chief executive, said in a statement.

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  • Standard Chartered Names Regional Head of Private Banking

    Standard Chartered Names Regional Head of Private Banking

    The bank has hired a new regional head to replace its outgoing regional head, Private Banking West.

    Standard Chartered has appointed Grant Parkinson as regional head of its private banking business for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the bank said in a statement.

    Parkinson joins the bank from U.K. wealth manager Brewin Dolphin, where he was a chief operating officer. He was also a chief operating officer at Coutts from 2012 to 2017, and previously worked for Barclays and McKinsey. Based in London, he reports to Didier von Daeniken, global head, private banking.

    Current regional head, Private Banking West, Steve Atkinson, is stepping down from his role and will be leaving after three decades with the bank. He will work closely with Parkinson to ensure a smooth leadership transition over the next few weeks, the bank said.

    The Private Bank’s franchise in the West is an important part of its global Private Banking business, complementing its franchise in Asia to cater to the needs of a global client base,» Standard Chartered said in the statement.

    The London-headquartered private bank previously stated plans to grow its assets under management (AUM) from $65 billion currently to about $100 billion in three to five years and said it would be hiring 30-40 relationship per year over the next two to three years.

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  • Standard Chartered Names Management Team for New Unit

    Standard Chartered Names Management Team for New Unit

    Announced in March, the Financing and Securities Services (FSS) unit brings together Securities Services (previously under Transaction Banking) and Portfolio Risk Management in the Financial Markets business.

    Standard Chartered Bank on Thursday named its FSS management team, who will support Singapore-based co-heads Margaret Harwood-Jones and Emmanuel Ramambason.

    Members of the FSS senior management team include:

    • Francois Verlaine – Regional Head, FSS, ASEAN & South Asia
    • Simon Kellaway – Regional Head, FSS, Greater China & North Asia
    • Luke Brereton – Global Head, FSS Sales and Business Development
    • Ryan Cuthbertson – Global Head, FSS Products
    • Liu Chee Wei – Head, Central Funding Desk and XVA, ASEAN & South Asia, Greater China & North Asia
    • Sam Phillips – Head, Central Funding Desk and XVA, Africa & Middle East, Europe & Americas
    • Madeleine Senior – Regional Head, FSS, Europe & Americas
    • Scott Dickinson – Regional Head, FSS, Africa & Middle East
    • Marten Bengt – Head, Modelling and Analytics Group
    • Tan Ying Ying – Chief Operating Officer, FSS

    The reorganization aims for the bank to become more client-centric and having targeted and integrated engagement with clients across various solutions and services, Standard Chartered said.

    Separately, the bank announced the addition of independent non-executive director Maria Ramos, with effect January 1, 2021.

    Based in South Africa, Ramos was chief executive officer of ABSA Group (previously Barclays Africa) from 2009 to 2019. Before joining ABSA, she was the group chief executive of state-owned freight transport and logistics service provider Transnet and served as director-general of South Africa’s National Treasury (formerly the Department of Finance).

    Standard Chartered also appointed independent non-executive director David Tang to the Board Risk Committee. Tang brings deep understanding of the bank’s key market of Greater China, and will contribute his expertise in relation to emerging technologies, digital and associated risks.

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  • Standard Chartered Partners with Juwai IQI to Redefine the Client Experience

    Standard Chartered Partners with Juwai IQI to Redefine the Client Experience

    Standard Chartered and Juwai IQI have announced a partnership across their networks to redefine the client experience of banking and property investment. Juwai IQI’s real estate agent network IQI Global has 10,000 agents across offices in 15 countries, while Standard Chartered has a presence in 59 countries.
    Abrar A. Anwar, Managing Director and CEO of Standard Chartered Malaysia said: “Real estate is a vital asset class for our clients as a means to diversify their investments. This collaboration offers Juwai IQI’s clients access to Standard Chartered’s comprehensive range of property loans and mortgage solutions to help them achieve their property ownership dreams.”
    Juwai IQI Executive Director Kashif Ansari said: “The majority of property investors use finance to leverage their returns. Investors also have many other financial needs, from private banking to personal loans and credit cards. Standard Chartered is one of the world’s leading banking groups. Together, we can improve both the banking and property investment experience for our mutual clients, and even save them money.
    “Both Standard Chartered and Juwai IQI are leaders in the application of data for business growth. By combining our knowledge, we expect to be able to improve existing services and offer new opportunities to our clients.
    “The partnership between Standard Chartered Malaysia and Juwai IQI will help to provide our mutual clients with the resources and opportunities they need to be successful.”
  • Standard Chartered Taps Microsoft for Digital-First Strategy

    Standard Chartered Taps Microsoft for Digital-First Strategy

    As its preferred cloud platform provider, Microsoft will help the bank make its vision for virtual banking, next-generation payments, open banking and banking-as-a-service a reality.

    Standard Chartered has established a three-year strategic partnership with Microsoft to accelerate its digital transformation through a cloud-first strategy, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

    As part of the partnership, Standard Chartered will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform to meet its need for resilient data centers and cloud services with the highest security and regulatory standards. The bank will also leverage Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics capabilities to automate banking processes and deliver hyper-personalization of its products and experiences for customers, and its employees globally will also adopt Microsoft’s collaboration, office productivity and document management tools to advance digital workplace transformation.

    «he pandemic has shone a spotlight on the need for businesses and banks to be resilient from a risk mitigation, cost, and security perspective. With the increasing trend of an always-on digital economy, commercial and consumer clients are looking for applications and services that empower them to do online banking from anywhere, flexibly and efficiently,» Bhupendra Warathe, chief technology officer, cloud transformation at Standard Chartered, said about the bank’s digital-first strategy.

    The bank’s core banking and trading systems and new digital ventures such as virtual banking and banking as-a-service will be cloud-based by 2025, and it will also adopt a cloud-first principle for all new software developments and major enhancements, the announcement said.

    The first set of capabilities to move to Azure will be Standard Chartered’s trade finance systems, which will facilitate seamless cross-border trade for the bank’s corporate and institutional clients.

    Covid-19 has further accelerated drive to digitize banking services, and we are determined to be at the forefront,» Standard Chartered group CEO Bill Winters said in a LinkedIn post about the announcement.

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  • Standard Chartered to Pilot Crypto Custody Solution

    Standard Chartered to Pilot Crypto Custody Solution

    The bank’s ventures and innovation platform is reportedly building a crypto custody offering for the institutional market, with a pilot planned for later this year.

    SC Ventures developing a venture to meet the demands of institutional investors for an end-to-end institutional-grade custodian of digital assets, which meets regulatory standards, Alex Manson its Singapore-based global head, told Coindesk earlier this week.

    The custodial solution will be based in the U.K., but will be open to clients from around the world, Manson said, noting interest from 20 institutions.

    Manson highlighted the opportunity to kick-start the institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies by providing the fundamental market infrastructure. He told the blockchain news portal that solutions currently available lack the security required to secure millions of dollars in digital assets, and lack function segregation.

    Complementing its custodial initiative, SC Ventures participated in an oversubscribed $17 million Series A funding round for Metaco, which runs an institutional operating system for digital assets.

    German-based security technology company Giesecke+Devrient led the round, which also saw participation from Zürcher Kantonalbank and venture capital firm Investiere, as well as all existing strategic shareholders Swisscom, SICPA, Avaloq Ventures, and Swiss Post.

    The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of the company’s growth in sales, product, and partnerships, and broaden its presence in the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Western Europe, the announcement last week said.