By Kim Jae-won
Staff reporter
Standard Chartered (SC) has grown exponentially over the last five years since the U.K.-based banking group acquired Korea First Bank in September 2005. Now it plans to reach out to more customers with its international network and localization strategy.
Standard Chartered Korea continues to show growth, posting net income of 111.4 billion won in the first quarter of 2010 with net assets of 4.8 trillion won. Standard Chartered First Bank (SC First Bank), a major subsidiary of Standard Chartered Korea, showed a solid underlying performance with net income growing 15 percent year-on-year.
Richard Hill, President and CEO of Standard Chartered Korea and SC First Bank, said "In a global economic environment, which remains unpredictable, Standard Chartered Korea and its subsidiaries continue to deliver a solid performance and remain well positioned to achieve our longer term strategic objectives in Korea."
The bank aims to provide best services for customers leveraging the bank's global network as a bridge between local corporations and overseas markets for wholesale banking customers, while providing innovative and differentiated services to consumer banking customers.
SC vows to be the nation's best financial partner for growth through the single biggest FDI and successful integration, and is the first international institution to establish a financial holding company in Korea market, which plays a critical role in the group's performance.
It is the group's second-largest market globally in terms of asset size, which reaches 14 percent. Korea also has the potential to be the single biggest market by profit for the Standard Chartered Group.
SC uses its global network to help local companies doing business abroad. Such Korean companies receive finance related support from Standard Chartered Bank in many of the 70 countries in which the bank operates. The bank opened nine overseas Korea desks in major markets such as Hong Kong, China, Japan and India since it acquired Korea First Bank in 2005.
The Banker, the world-renowned London-based finance magazine, has awarded SCK the prestigious "Bank of the Year 2009 Award for Korea." The award reflects SC's growth here, as a key part of its long-term strategic commitment to Asia.
Standard Chartered Korea entered into partnership with Vision Care Service, the only organization in Korea to be recognized by International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. In 2008 alone, SCK conducted 14 overseas eye care services, provided 8,725 eye treatment services and 1,282 operations. SCK helped a total of 18,560 patients in 2007 and 2008.