Standard Chartered expands private banking team in the UAE

(Reuters) - Standard Chartered plans to expand its frontline private banking team by 20% in the United Arab Emirates, the Asia-focused lender said on Wednesday, as part of a broader strategy to cater to its high and ultra high net worth clients.

StanChart, like its other London-listed peers such as Barclays and HSBC, has been looking to turbo-charge growth in its wealth management capabilities to offset declining revenues from lending in an environment of falling central bank interest rates.

The expansion in the private banking business in the Middle East country comes under its strategy to double investments in the business over the next five years, StanChart said in a statement on Wednesday.

The bank has made 7 key appointments under the expansion.

Earlier this month, StanChart had said it will target $200 billion in new assets and double-digit growth in income from its global wealth business over the next five years.

The bank had also set eyes on its wealthy Chinese and Indian clients under that target.

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)