Exclusive | Hong Kong is key to Standard Chartered’s US$200 billion new money goal: CEO Winters
Bank is developing over 200 use cases for AI, including fraud detection and prevention, anti-money-laundering screening and new products
The London-based bank has operations in more than 50 markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, where affluent populations continues to grow. Hong Kong, where Standard Chartered has been issuing currency notes since 1862, is the biggest market for the lender that focuses on emerging markets.
“In Hong Kong, China, India, Asean and increasingly in the Middle East and Africa, we are seeing both the demographics and maturation of the economy leading to a greater pool of affluent people who need some help,” Winters said in an exclusive interview.
“Hong Kong is extremely important for Standard Chartered,” he added, noting that most of the bank’s [mainland] Chinese clients work with its bankers in Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai.
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Exclusive: Standard Chartered’s Bill Winters shares his plans to expand in Hong Kong
Last month, Winters unveiled a plan to invest US$1.5 billion in its wealth-management business over the next five years. Robust growth in serving affluent clients drove the bank’s profit 21 per cent higher in 2024.
The money will be used to develop AI tools and other technologies and to hire more experienced bankers in wealth management to serve affluent clients in Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere.