Cross-border transactions, wealth management will remain focus areas: PD Singh, Standard Chartered's India & South Asia CEO

PD Singh, CEO, Standard Chartered India

One thing was clear when PD Singh, Standard Chartered’s India and South Asia CEO, who took charge from April 1 this year, addressed media last week: the bank will sharpen its focus on what it has identified as its  core businesses in the country - cross-border transactions and wealth management.

Stating that one out of 12 letters of credit globally is opened by Standard Chartered, Singh plans to maintain the bank’s leadership in some of the key areas in the corporate banking space, such as forex and debt capital market, particularly with respect to arranging foreign currency bonds, and the custodian business where Standard Chartered manages 20 percent of inbound and outbound flows in the investment-grade bonds market.

The bank has about 10 percent market share of the total assets under custody, which is estimated to be a $90 billion market.

Talking about corporate banking business as a whole, Singh is confident that, in FY26, the book should grow by 10 – 11 percent though some large deals in the mergers and acquisitions space could elevate growth rate.

“Infrastructure financing and project financing are the stories that are playing out,” said Singh, adding that green energy and mobility, among others, are a few focus areas for the bank. “Since 2022, our bank has emerged as the top player in the cleantech sector, securing the No.1 position by advising on landmark transactions that’s worth a combined $6 billion,” he added.

To put it in perspective, in 2024, Standard Chartered India contributed 20 percent to the bank’s global structured finance assets. At a global level, Standard Chartered facilitated financing for 38 percent of emission reduction impact projects. The bank arranged capital of over $5.5 billion through ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) bonds over the last two years.

“In the debt capital market, we are the market leader for arranging FCY (foreign currency) bonds from India in the last 15 years, raising over $125 billion of financing from the international debt capital markets”.

Likewise, in the forex market, Singh said the bank is estimated to hold 8 – 10 percent share of onshore forex markets turnover. The bank was rated No. 1 in India for M&A advisors by Venture Intelligence during the first half of 2025. “Now is a good time for India Inc to raise money,” said Singh. He, however, added that, for banks, margins are at the tightest band. “Seventy  percent of private bank clients are business owners,” he said.

On the whole, Singh pegged growth at 10-12 percent for Standard Chartered India’s corporate side of business in FY26 though any large M&A deal could sway the needle positively. That said, particularly with respect to trade funding, the bank seems to be treading cautiously, considering the concerns around tariffs imposed by the US. “It’s a wait and watch on trade,” he said.