Global financial markets are finally on the rebound, and London-based Standard Chartered Bank is moving fast to grab a larger piece of the institutional pie. In hiring Venkatesh Rathnam, a 12-year veteran of Citibank in Asia, to ramp up its global funds and securities services business, Standard Chartered hopes to woo clients who are reevaluating their banking relationships with an eye to counterparty risk.
“There is a preference for service providers who are not only well capitalized with a strong balance sheet, but who also can provide extensive reach across the network,” says Rathnam, 42, now Standard Chartered’s Singapore-based head of global securities services and formerly Citi’s head of fund services in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank currently holds $500 billion on behalf of global institutional clients in its custodial and administration services business.
