Swaroop's turf widens at StanChart

Standard Chartered Bank is likely to appoint its India chief Neeraj Swaroop as the regional chief executive officer for South-east Asia.

This will put him in charge of eight countries, including the bank’s key markets like Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. Swaroop is regional chief executive for South Asia and has India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka under him. Ray Ferguson is the chief executive for South-east Asia.

“Swaroop is likely to get the position largely because of the contributions he made in the Indian franchise. He will relocate to Singapore by the end of this year,” said a source familiar with the development. The bank’s spokesperson declined to comment.

Swaroop will be the first Indian after Jaspal Singh Bindra to become the CEO for South-east Asia. Bindra is the group executive director, member of the board of Standard Chartered Plc and based in Hong Kong as Asia CEO.

Swaroop is the longest serving chief executive of the bank in India in recent times. He will complete six years in this role by the end of this year. Sources said the bank has also started the process of finding a new chief executive for the India franchise. It is believed Swaroop's successor will be an Indian from within the group.

When Swaroop took charge of Standard Chartered Bank in India in August 2005, the local business was the lender's third most profitable market after Hong Kong and Korea with a pre-tax profit of $223 million. Under his leadership, India became the most profitable market in the group with operating profit of $1.2 billion in 2010.

During his reign, Standard Chartered Bank became the first institution in India to issue Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs), which have been listed on the local bourses.

Swaroop started his career with Hindustan Unilever and moved to Bank of America. He was later appointed as the head of consumer banking of the country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank.