Standard Chartered's Chairman Says Bank Hasn't Found His Successor
May 04 2016 - 12:20PM
Dow Jones News
LONDON—Standard Chartered PLC Chairman John Peace said the bank
still hasn't found his successor, after announcing 15 months ago
that he would leave the bank this year.
At a shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Peace said the search
"is progressing," and that he still expects his seven-year tenure
to end in 2016.
Standard Chartered has replaced its executive team and much of
its board since a decadelong earnings spree in Asia petered out two
years ago. Mr. Peace's departure plans were announced in February
2015, when the bank also moved to replace former chief executive
Peter Sands with Bill Winters. A new chairman was originally
expected to be lined up in time for this year's annual shareholder
meeting, held in London on Wednesday.
After the meeting, Mr. Winters said the chairman job was proving
tough to fill because of its time and travel commitments as well as
new U.K. rules that threaten board members with potential criminal
liability in the case of a bank collapse. Any successful candidate
must be approved by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation
Authority.
The search is being led by Naguib Kheraj, the bank's senior
independent director and a former Barclays and J.P. Morgan
executive.
Since Mr. Winters joined last year, Standard Chartered is trying
to reinvent itself as a smaller lender with less exposure to big
commodities and energy companies. Last week, it cheered investors
by reporting lower than expected bad loans in the first
quarter.
Mr. Winters on Wednesday said the bank has boosted its capital,
cut costs and reduced lending risk, in "an ambitious transformation
program."
In what may be his last official appearance before shareholders,
Mr. Peace said the bank had been hit by "particularly ferocious"
headwinds to its business. After he repeated his plan to step down
by the end of this year, some shareholders applauded. Mr. Peace
responded with a weak smile.
Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2016 12:05 ET (16:05 GMT)
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