Standard Chartered restructures European leadership to chase growth

Harwood-Jones steps into the newly created role as the bank intensifies efforts to secure mandates from large corporations and financial institutions. Alongside this appointment, Jörg Hessenmüller takes the helm as CEO of SCB AG, the bank’s German entity, reinforcing its footprint in continental Europe. These changes follow a period of physical expansion for the lender, which has recently established offices in Switzerland and Brussels, alongside a digital asset custody operation in Luxembourg.

Standard Chartered is pivoting toward fee-based revenue streams, specifically cash management, lending, and foreign exchange services. This strategy mirrors the path taken by rival HSBC, as both institutions retreat from competitive retail markets to prioritize global corporate clients. According to Harwood-Jones, the bank intends to leverage its unique cross-border platform to accelerate growth in a region now deemed core to its long-term strategy.