Hong Kong is key to Standard Chartered's US$200 billion new money goal: CEO Winters

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Standard Chartered will invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) and hire more wealth managers in Hong Kong and other markets to achieve its goal of pulling in US$200 billion of net new money from affluent clients over the next five years, according to global CEO Bill Winters.

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.

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“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.

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 19 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.

Winters said the US$200 billion client money target would be achieved through the proposed investment in AI, technology and talent.

Standard Chartered’s CEO Bill Winters (right), during the HKMA’s Global Financial Leaders’ Summit conference in Hong Kong on 19 November 2024 with (left to right) HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, Bank of China’s Chairman Ge Haijiao, and Peking University’s Professor Huang Yiping. Photo: Dickson Lee. alt=Standard Chartered’s CEO Bill Winters (right), during the HKMA’s Global Financial Leaders’ Summit conference in Hong Kong on 19 November 2024 with (left to right) HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, Bank of China’s Chairman Ge Haijiao, and Peking University’s Professor Huang Yiping. Photo: Dickson Lee.>

AI could be used for fraud detection and prevention, anti-money-laundering screening, and supporting the lender’s relationship managers in delivering a set of products and services to their clients.

“We have over 200 use cases that we are developing right now and we are doing that at a very rapid pace,” he said. “We want to make sure that our relationship managers have access to the best AI tools that we can provide them so that they can customise that for their customers.”

Standard Chartered, the oldest of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing banks, said last month that its underlying pre-tax profit last year rose 19 per cent to US$6.8 billion. Underlying pre-tax profit in Hong Kong jumped by 25 per cent to US$2.3 billion, representing 34 per cent of the total, the biggest among the bank’s markets.

The Headquarters buildings of HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong’s Central district on 4 February 2025. Photo: Sam Tsang alt=The Headquarters buildings of HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong’s Central district on 4 February 2025. Photo: Sam Tsang>

The cross-border corporate banking business and wealth management were the two growth engines behind the strong performance last year, which Winters said would continue to grow.

“There was a lot of volatility last year around the politics and geopolitics of war,” he said. “We were very well placed for that, especially in China, which is going through its own very substantial transition and a lot of movement in the currency.”

Standard Chartered is a key player in businesses related to the yuan. It offers clients a range of services, including currency-hedging, cross-border transactions, trade settlements and capital investments.

The recent trend of mainland manufacturers moving part of their production to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other lower-cost markets has provided more business opportunities for Standard Chartered to help these companies set up in these emerging markets.

Meanwhile, Winters, 63, who completes 10 years at the bank in June, has no plans to retire.

“There are so many interesting things to do on this planet,” he said. “Thankfully, I have my health and have the energy, so I will keep going.”

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.