Standard Chartered CEO contender Cooper to leave in overhaul as UK bank changes top Greater China jobs

Simon Cooper, who has led the firm’s corporate, commercial and institutional banking division for eight years, will leave the London-based banking group to “pursue other interests,” according to a statement. Roberto Hoornweg and Sunil Kaushal will replace him as they take charge of the newly-renamed corporate and investment banking unit, the bank said.

As part of the broader changes, Judy Hsu, head of consumer, private and business banking arm, will take on additional responsibility for Greater China and North Asia. Hsu will move from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Ben Hung, who had previously been responsible for Greater China and North Asia as CEO of Asian business, is becoming president of international. Tanuj Kapilashrami, group head of human resources, will also oversee strategy, corporate affairs, brand and marketing, supply chain management, and property.

Hoornweg, who was most recently global head of the bank’s financial market unit and comes from a background in fixed income trading, will move to Dubai from Singapore to take up his new role. Kaushal, the bank’s head of business in Africa and the Middle East in Dubai, will move to Singapore.

The changes come weeks after Winters said Standard Chartered’s share price was “crap” despite the bank reporting consensus-beating profits and a fresh US$1 billion share repurchase programme. The moves would “ensure clear accountabilities” and “bring renewed intensity” to efforts to improve returns, according to the statement.

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Standard Chartered will strip out a series of regional reporting lines in the division, which could lead to several executives losing their jobs, according to a person familiar with the matter. No final decisions have been made on job cuts, the person said, asking not to be named discussing personnel information.

Speaking Tuesday at Morgan Stanley’s financial services conference, Winters said the changes had been in the works for some time and would help the bank reach its full potential. He added that the UK lender’s planned cost cuts would be “relatively light” in terms of job losses.

“As we announced at our full year 2023 results, we are taking action to build on our momentum and deliver sustainably higher returns,” Winters said in the statement, adding that Cooper had led a “substantial transformation” at the bank.

Cooper has long wanted the top job, and became increasingly frustrated that Winters would not be leaving his position in the near future, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Cooper had been taking development and leadership courses to eventually prepare him for the role.

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Winters has been the bank’s CEO for almost nine years. In that time, he has overhauled the bank and cut thousands of jobs, but the company’s shares are still worth about a third less than when he joined.

The was little changed at HK$66.65 in Hong Kong at 10.37am local time. It has risen 1 per cent so far this year and 5 per cent over the past five years while its biggest rival HSBC fell 5.4 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively, over the same period.

“We are not happy with the share price at all,” Winters said last month. The market, he added, has “a sense that it is hard to get things done at Standard Chartered and this ‘Fit for Growth’ programme is going to tackle that head on.”

At the Morgan Stanley conference, Winters said his bank’s organisational structure had been holding back performance and that eliminating layers of regional and country-based management would mean business heads taking more responsibility for their teams.