Standard Chartered Bank celebrates 150 years in India

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Standard Chartered Bank , India's first and largest international bank, celebrates the 150^th anniversary of its operations in India. Standard Chartered, which started as The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, had opened its first branch in Kolkata in April 1858. From those beginnings, the Bank has emerged as a top global bank, with operations in over 70 countries and leading the way in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

 

Standard Chartered is India's leading international bank with 83 branches in 33 cities. The Bank services 1,500 top Indian corporations and 2.1 million retail clients. India in turn is one of the most critical operations for Standard Chartered. The country is a top contributor to Group profits, houses the largest unit of Scope International, the Group's operations hub, and employs over a quarter of Standard Chartered's 73,000 people.

 

Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Plc, said: "Standard Chartered is honoured to have been associated with India over the past 150 years, witnessing and participating in the nation's emergence as a political and economic giant. Nothing conveys the solidity of our commitment more strongly than our being here for this long. We have continuously invested in India over the years in our people, products, infrastructure and technology. We are committed to being the Right Partner to our customers, our people, the community, and the regulators."

 

Standard Chartered Bank has invested another $250 million in its Indian banking operations taking the total capital base to $1.9 billion. This will bolster the Bank's capital adequacy and support the growth of the Wholesale and Consumer Banking services. This includes key recent initiatives that widen the scope and quality of our services such as Microfinance, Private Banking, and Mobile Banking.

 

Standard Chartered is setting up a $500 million microfinance facility that will touch an estimated 4 million people in emerging markets. In India, we will partner with more than 20 microfinance institutions by December, extend operations to the North and North East, which are relatively untouched by the banking industry, and extend our strong capital market capabilities to microfinance institutions.

 

The Standard Chartered Private Bank, launched in 2007, has expanded with the acquisition of American Express Bank. The acquisition brings a team of experienced relationship managers and a strong portfolio of clients across a number of key centres, giving the business the critical mass needed to become a leading entity in the sector. The acquisition of brokerage Standard Chartered STCI Capital Markets support the growth of this business because of its equities trading capability.

 

Standard Chartered Bank is investing in technology solutions to enhance customer experience. The Bank has recently launched a suite of Mobile Banking Solutions including Mobile Remittances, an instantaneous funds transfer facility. In addition to SMS-based solutions, the Bank will soon launch Java-based solutions, which are faster and more secure.

 

Standard Chartered Group CEO Sands added, "As we look to the future, we see India as central to Standard Chartered's strategy. It is a big part of our business today, and will hold this place in the decades ahead given its huge potential. We will continue to invest in growth, build new relationships, hire more people, develop new products and build on our position as one of India's leading banks." 

 

Sourced From: LINOpinion - The Lintas Public Relations Division