Standard Chartered restructures in bid for affluent customers

Standard Chartered is reorganising its business to concentrate on affluent customers and link up its Asian network.

The FTSE 100 bank said retail banking, private banking and wealth management would be merged into a consumer, private and business banking division. The business will be led by Judy Hsu, currently regional chief executive for ASEAN and South Asia.

The bank will also combine Greater China and North Asia and ASEAN and South Asia into a single Asia region led by Ben Hung, who runs Greater China and North Asia and retail banking and wealth management.

Tracy Clarke, who runs Europe and the Americas and private banking, will retire at the end of 2020 to concentrate on external board roles. Tom Berntsen, CEO of the Americas, will lead Europe and the Americas reporting to Simon Cooper, head of commercial, corporate and institutional banking.

The changes, ordered by CEO Bill Winters, will take place on 1 January. Winters said the restructure would help the bank add to its more than $200bn of assets for affluent customers and develop digital consumer banking services. Standard Chartered has been trying for years to attract more wealthy customers.

Winters said the restructure would also allow the group to connect its Asian businesses to support trade and investment across the region while capitalising on opportunities in China's Bay Area and ASEAN.

Winters said: "These changes will further strengthen our business with individual clients, supporting growth in all aspects of this profitable and differentiated business. Separately, the increased focus on connecting our Asian business will allow us to better serve our corporate and institutional clients as they develop their businesses across these dynamic markets."

Hung will continue to be based in Hong Kong and Hsu and Cooper will remain in Singapore. Hung and Cooper have been suggested as potential successors to Winters, who became CEO five years ago.