SC Korea to open new head office

Standard Chartered Korea announced yesterday it will establish a regional head office in Seoul with the goal of making Korea a global financial hub.

The group said the head office will oversee the bank’s operations in Korea, Japan and Mongolia. It is the first time that a foreign financial group has said it will open a regional head office in the country.

The group’s current President and CEO Ajay Kanwal will lead the new office. He has been holding the double post of Standard Chartered Korea President and CEO since April.

Kanwal will serve as representative of the head office, while a Korean executive will be appointed as CEO. Park Jong-bok, the current executive vice president of the bank, is rumored to be the new CEO.

It will be the first time since the bank entered Korea in 2005 that a Korean will lead the London-based financial institution.

This move is interpreted as part of the institution’s plan to strengthen its localization and prevent its profits from falling further.

The group recorded a net loss of 38.6 billion won ($34.053 million) in the first half of this year and is also in the middle of selling its savings bank and capital firm.

BY SONG SU-HYUN [ssh@joongang.co.kr]