HONG KONG (Reuters) – Standard Chartered Bank (OTC:) has hired a dozen new bankers for its private banking divisions in Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as it seeks to expand its wealthy business, the bank said on Thursday.
The hires also include Nicholas Cheng, who joined as head of the private markets group, reporting to Foo Tian Ong, regional head of private banking for Southeast Asia and Singapore, the statement said.
Cheng joins seven other new recruits in the Singapore-based private banking team, which will focus on building relationships and providing advice to ultra-high net worth private clients in the region, it added.
The bank has also hired four relationship managers in Hong Kong and two relationship managers in the UAE, it said in a statement.
“In line with our ambition to grow our high net worth business, we have been strengthening our private bank over the past few years,” the bank said in a statement, adding that the new hires would strengthen the frontline team serving clients’ needs.
Standard Chartered Bank reported a 5.5% rise in pre-tax profit for the first quarter in May as a surge in income from its trading and wealth businesses more than made up for additional credit losses.
