The new head of Standard Chartered Korea has pledged to continue pursue growth in the country in a bid to reverse the bank’s weakening profitability.
Ajay Kanwal, who took over the CEO post in April, stressed the bank’s ambition to grow in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, with a focus on corporate finance and wealth management.
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"We are very committed to Korea. We have been the largest investor in the banking industry, with 4.7 trillion won invested over the last five to six years… We are here to grow."
The remark has comes as the British banking group is downsizing its business in South Korea.
Kanwal mentioned digital banking as a key strategy for the local banking industry. The CEO said he plans to study appropriate digital models for the Korean market and launch a mobile banking platform with loan services within the year.
The CEO also hinted at adapting renminbi, or RMB, services in South Korea.
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By GlobalData"We’ll take advantage of our RMB success in markets like Hong Kong and Taiwan to support Korea’s aspirations to become an RMB hub," Kanwal added.
StanChart Korea, which serves about four million customers, last year swung to an operating loss of US$162 million, compared with a profit of US$164 million in 2012 – amid troubles in its consumer banking business.
