StanChart reshuffles top deck
Ajay Kanwal to head Asean & South Asia, India CEO Sunil Kaushal moves to head Africa & Middle East
 "StanChart reshuffles top deck")
It will also appoint a new chief executive for India operations, as its present CEO, Sunil Kaushal, is to lead the Africa and Middle East business. The India CEO will be reporting to Kanwal, who will be based out of Singapore. Both Kanwal and Kaushal’s new roles will be effective from October 1.
Of the other two regions, Greater China & North Asia will be led by Ben Hung and Tracy Clarke will head the Europe & Americas. From here on, the heads of all the four regions will be directly reporting to Bill Winters, group chief executive.
The UK-headquartered financial institution has reorganised the current eight business regions into four.
“The group needs to kick-start performance, reduce its cost base and bureaucracy, improve accountability, and speed decision making. The new structure will help achieve all these critical objectives and will be in place as we communicate a comprehensive plan to address the group’s performance by the year-end,” said Winters.
The lender has also announced regrouping its client businesses under three heads -- corporate and institutional banking, retail banking, and commercial and private banking.
Stanchart said the new structure will play a key part in delivering the earlier announced target of $1.8 billion (Rs 11,300 crore) of cost savings by the end of 2017.
Winters took over the reins last month, after Peter Sands quit in February, after two years of less than satisfactory bank results. Jaspal Bindra, who was group executive director and CEO of Asia, had also stepped down from the board of directors.
In India, it is the largest foreign lender in terms of branch network. In 2014-15, net profit grew 93 per cent to Rs 3,051 crore. However, the pressure on asset quality hasn't eased. The gross non-performing assets ratio rose to 8.9 per cent from 7.82 per cent at the end of March 2014.
This came after net profit fell 46 per cent in FY14 to Rs 1,584 crore, from Rs 2,960 crore a year before, due to higher specific provisions made against advances.
"We recently reported strong domestic financial performance in India and the business is well poised to seize the opportunities presented by the coming economic turnaround, supported by a business-friendly government," said Kaushal.
After the fall min performance in FY14, Stanchart lost the position of most profitable foreign lender to Citibank, which has continued to maintain this.
CHANGE IN STRUCTURE
- Ajay Kanwal to head Asean & South Asia region including India
- Sunil Kaushal, current India head, to lead Africa & Middle East business
- India CEO to be appointed soon
- Kanwal and Kaushal’s new roles will be effective from October 1
- The bank has reorganised the current eight business regions into four
- Head of four regions will now all report to Bill Winters
- Client businesses also reorganised under three heads — corporate and institutional, retail, and commercial and private
- Reorganisation to reduce cost and bureaucracy and improve accountability