Standard Chartered Overhauls Investment Banking Leadership

Standard Chartered has made a number of changes to its leadership team.

The British banking giant announced Tuesday (March 11) that it had appointed Roberto Hoornweg, head of financial markets, and Sunil Kaushal, regional CEO for Africa and the Middle East, to serve as co-heads of corporate and investment banking.

They replace Simon Cooper, who had held the job since 2018 and is leaving Standard Chartered to “pursue other interests,” the bank said Tuesday in announcing a broader series of changes to its executive team.

“These changes will ensure we have the strongest possible team in place, with clear accountabilities, to drive our transformation efforts and bring renewed intensity to our focus on increased growth and returns through each of our business lines,” CEO Bill Winters said.

In addition to the investment banking appointments, the company has also given Judy Hsu — its CEO for consumer, private and business banking — responsibility for greater China and the north Asia markets.

Ben Hung, currently the bank’s CEO for Asia, will take on the new role of president, while human resources head Tanuj Kapilashrami, will assume the newly-created position of chief strategy and talented officer, the announcement said.

A report by Reuters notes that sources say the shake-up marks Winters’ last push to revitalize Standard Chartered’s talent amid China’s weak economic outlook. The report also said the moves were a surprise, and that Cooper had been considered a possible successor for the CEO.

The moves follow similar changes made by JPMorgan Chase earlier this year to its leadership and organizational structure.

“The senior management changes and new alignments announced today will help the company serve clients even better as well as further develop the company’s most senior leaders,” the bank said in January.

Among the changes is the combination of JPMorgan’s major wholesale businesses of Global Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, and Markets, Securities Services and Global Payments in an expanded Commercial & Investment Bank.

“Combining these efforts will enhance and deepen the way the company can seamlessly deliver the world’s most complete set of wholesale banking products and solutions,” the bank said.

Elsewhere in the banking space, HSBC has begun efforts to hire around 50 more commercial bankers as it steps up lending to tech and healthcare startups.

“There’s this void in the market and we’re jumping into it,” Wyatt Crowell, head of U.S. commercial banking for HSBC, told Reuters. “It’s gone way better than I thought it was going to go, both in terms of the volume of deals and our win rate on the deals.”