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Standard Chartered Bank rebrands branches

Standard Chartered Bank officially rebranded all the branches of its recently acquired Hsinchu International Bank (新竹國際商銀) yesterday and announced plans to invest an extra US$50 million in remodeling the expanded franchise network in Taiwan by the end of next year.

The bank remains open to further acquisitions in future to deepen its footprint in the wealthy Greater Taipei area, a company executive said.

Taiwan is an important market and the fifth-biggest for the bank, Peter Sands, group chief executive of parent Standard Chartered PLC, told a press conference in Hsinchu City yesterday.

The transaction allows the bank to capitalize on the robust trade and capital interflows between Taiwan and the Greater China area, the region that has experienced the highest growth in the world, Sands said.

Standard Chartered said last September it would purchase the Hsinchu lender for US$1.2 billion, the first foreign buyout of a local bank in Taiwan, boosting its outlet number from 3 to 86 nationwide.

The integration of the two banks was completed three months ahead of schedule, the bank said.

Standard Chartered unveiled all the re-branded outlets across the nation and the first renovated flagship branch, located in Hsinchu City, as part of the bank's remodeling program. Sixty-two branches will be affected nationwide.

The bank now has nine branches across the Greater Taipei market.

"We would like more branches in Taipei," Sands said. "The bank does not rule out further mergers and acquisitions in the future, but it is not our priority right now."

The acquisition will give Standard Chartered better access to the overseas Taiwanese corporate customer base, but "consumer banking [in the local market] will also be a major engine of growth in Taiwan," said Mike DeNoma, Standard Chartered group executive director.

Standard Chartered will hire an additional 250 frontline employees in a bid to expand the wealth management business in a very competitive market.

"Wealth management and services to small and medium enterprises are our major focus," he said.

Mortgages will be another key business in Taiwan, he said, citing the bank's significant base in the housing mortgage lending markets in both Hong Kong and Singapore.
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