Standard Chartered Bank

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EXCELLENCE AND HARMONY IN SUPPORTING STAKEHOLDERS

Standard Chartered Bank cemented its foothold during the ‘new normal’, pushing out new initiatives and digital solutions for its clients, supporting its stakeholders and employees with multiple relief measures and recovery projects, and assisting the community with a growing number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

“We continually refined and expanded our digital banking and retail banking services in the past years. The pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to client needs and expectations. We, therefore, accelerated our digital transformation to further enhance our clients’ propositions,” Mary Huen, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong, told Hong Kong Business.

For their efforts, the bank was lauded Bank of the Year for 2021 at the Hong Kong Business Magazine’s Annual High Flyers Awards. This marks the fourth consecutive year the bank has snagged the title for its resilient, quality service and continuous efforts to contribute towards social progress.

Pushing past the pandemic

In its bid to become the go‑to bank in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Standard Chartered strengthened its foothold with positive growth and a very strong momentum amidst the pandemic.

The bank was one of the first to sell investment products under the Cross‑boundary wealth management connect (WMC) scheme, providing clients with more than 100 investment product options since its launch in October 2021. The bank has also launched the first GBA‑themed QDII global fund product to help Chinese investors seize the emerging investment opportunities in the GBA. Its newly set up GBA centre, which completed the first phase of development in August 2021, boasts over 250 employees ‑ with plans to increase the number of people to 1,600 by 2023. It acts as a centre of excellence in deploying new technologies, transforming processes and expanding product capabilities in e‑commerce, wealth management and financial markets.

Meanwhile, it has collaborated with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to set up the Standard Chartered GBA Business Confidence Index. According to Huen, it is the first forward‑looking quarterly survey in the market that looks at the business sentiment and synergistic effects across GBA cities and industries.

Moreover, the bank wants to focus on the affluent, but underserved, segment through the introduction of Priority Private Centre, which offers wealth‑led, digital solutions to meet the needs of an increasing number of high net worth individuals in Hong Kong and China.

Banking with a cause

Despite all its digital transformative undertakings and pandemic safety measures, Standard Chartered Bank has not forgotten its commitment to reach net‑zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2030, and from financing by 2050.

To further help its clients’ transition to net‑zero, the bank offers a wide range of solutions and product suites such as a green mortgage, which was launched in October 2021, targeting clients who purchase first‑hand, second‑ hand or government subsidised housing with either a “platinum” or “gold” rating under the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) BEAM Plus scheme.

The product suite has also been strengthened: For instance, a brand new range of Standard Chartered Cathay Mastercard was introduced in

PHILOSOPHY FAST FACTS

“Standard Chartered Bank is committed to promoting economic and social development in the markets they serve, doing so sustainably and equitably in line with their purpose and three valued behaviours: ‘Never settle’, ‘Better together’ and ‘Do the right thing.” • The bank provides a wide range of banking services to retail and corporate clients, and has over 70 branches and over 200 ATMs across

Hong Kong

• Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and

Hong Kong stock exchanges

This page: (Top left) Standard Chartered Priority Private Centre, (Top right) Green Mortgage launched to make home financing a greener banking journey, (Bottom left) The Bank showcasing new digital banking capabilities at the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2021, (Bottom right) Arts in the Park returned last year to uplift the city

Opposite page: Mary Huen, Chief Executive Director and Executive Officer, Hong Kong of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited

2021 in the bank’s effort to meet the banking needs of different segments, whilst affluent and international clients were offered cross border intranet payments on Standard Chartered’s mobile platform across six corridors.

The bank also introduced its first green deposit savings account, the Sustainable Savings Account for retail clients in Hong Kong. It is the country’s first deposit account of its kind ‑ available in HKD, RMB, and USD ‑ linking clients to sustainability.

Meanwhile, the Smart Card is a new client value proposition (CVP) developed primarily to drive customer acquisitions and profitable engagement among the Millennials segment. “Based on our extensive client research, millennials prefer simple borrowing features available within their card. They want to be serviced digitally and expect to be rewarded for digital spending. Smart Card’s CVP is centred around convenient borrowing, digital rewards and self‑service capabilities. It’s also Standard Chartered Bank’s first carbon‑neutral card product,” Huen explained.

The bank’s partnership with AlipayHK allows customers to use the AlipayHK app to manage their digital Q Credit Card, and use the physical card at Visa‑accepting merchants. AlipayHK’s 2.7 million‑strong customer base speaks to its popularity and stability and further strengthens Standard Chartered Hong Kong’s position in the market.

Response to the ‘new normal’

As unemployment rose against a much‑reduced level of economic activity, Standard Chartered Bank stepped up to provide relief measures and recovery programmes to address community and business needs.

The bank donated HK$20m to families living in subdivided units in Hong Kong, and rallied its corporate clients and partners to donate another HK$20m to benefit nearly 4,000 families. The bank also donated HK$3m to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service for the provision of epidemic prevention supplies to 100,000 underprivileged families.

The bank also supported around 100 struggling SMEs to provide 300 job opportunities to nearly 150 disadvantaged youths through its Futuremaker’s First Job programme, with a total of HK$10m donations from Standard Chartered Foundation to charitable organisation, St. James’ Settlement.

Cultivating culture and success

Standard Chartered Bank has made its mark within the communities it operates in, and aside from delivering quality financial services, the bank has committed to growing a number of signature corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in the city.

It continually supports the Hong Kong Marathon to promote healthier lifestyles and inject positive energy within the community and holds the Standard Chartered Arts in the Park, an annual youth programme first launched in 2001 that aims to provide the younger generation with a greater appreciation for the arts. Additionally, it co‑created the University of Hong Kong ‑ Standard Chartered Hong Kong 150th Anniversary Community Foundation Fintech Academy (HKU‑SCF FinTech Academy) in 2020.

The partnership aims to cultivate 1,000 future‑fit talents upskill bankers with disruptive technologies and make a sustainable impact on the financial services sectors of Hong Kong and the GBA within the next five years.

Standard Chartered launched its first FinTech Academy Women Mentorship Programme in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong (HKU) on 6 October 2021. Ten female senior executives from the Bank will be providing one‑to‑one mentorship to HKU’s female FinTech students and equipping them with industrial knowledge to cultivate future‑fit talents and drive women empowerment in tech. The bank has also created SCVentures, a corporate platform that allows new ideas and models to be tested, whilst innovation lab eXellerator enables staff to use a test‑bed for new ideas and train staff in new skills. To encourage inclusion, employee engagement, and an agile work environment, the Bank also launched flexible work arrangements in April 2021 as a way to support employees’ personal and professional well‑being. It also upgraded the medical plan to offer more comprehensive protection for employees and their families, followed by the increase in the number of annual leave days for regular employees of certain bands.