- The move signals the bank’s new global investment banking strategy shift amid rival retreats.
- It is centered in New York and backed by additional offices in London and Dubai.
Standard Chartered is pushing for a greater share of U.S. financial sponsor business, establishing a new team focused on private equity firms, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
According to Reuters, the initiative, centered in New York and backed by additional offices in London and Dubai, reflects the bank’s renewed ambition to grow its investment banking revenues, particularly from high-return financial clients.
The newly formed team will include around 25 bankers to start, with plans for further hiring. Standard Chartered will appoint a global head of financial sponsors in due course, with Molly Duffy temporarily leading the team. She and Jerry Zhang, the bank’s global co-heads of financial institution coverage, will oversee the new structure.
This expansion underscores the significance StanChart places on boosting income from financial institutions, which already contribute over half, 51%, of its investment banking earnings.
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Eying Global Expansion
The timing of the announcement coincides with a strategic investor presentation, part of a series the bank is using to provide greater clarity on its corporate direction.
While HSBC has recently scaled back its U.S. and European M&A and equity capital markets activities, citing a renewed Asia focus, Standard Chartered appears to be moving in the opposite direction. Its U.S. push positions the bank to capture business potentially left on the table by rivals pulling back.
StanChart’s latest move builds on prior changes to its investment banking coverage model, including the creation of a separate team dedicated to cross-border transactions, announced in late 2023.
Although Wall Street institutions continue to lead global investment banking rankings, some industry leaders are concerned that geopolitical tensions, including fears of an anti-American backlash driven by U.S. policy shifts, could undermine their global standing
