STANDARD CHARTERED

Standard Chartered is a limited liability company registered under the laws of England and Wales by Royal Charter 1853 with over 160 years of expertise in the world’s most dynamic markets. The bank’s purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through its unique diversity. Its heritage and values are expressed in the brand promise ‘Here for good.’ The bank supports individual and corporate needs to build wealth and drive commerce at every step of its journey by offering an entire range of financial services across personal, priority and business banking, as well as through commercial and corporate banking teams.

Q: How does respect in workplaces grow admiration for organisations to become employers of choice?
A: At Standard Chartered, we consider our employees who collectively contribute to the successes of the bank to be the greatest asset. So we prioritise our employees’ needs and wants at every stage of the employee life cycle.

In recent years and despite many challenges we have faced as a country, the bank has provided a range of benefits and facilities by listening to and understanding the timely requirements of our workforce. We constantly focus on better ways to take care of our employees while ensuring their careers are significant milestones, which help them become professionals and experts in respective areas.

Q: What are the main attributes of your image?
A: Standard Chartered takes pride in being known as ‘the bank of choice’ especially for many corporate clients whilst also being known as ‘the banker of banks.’ Our excellent service standards have positioned us as one of the most popular brands in Sri Lanka’s banking sector.

We are committed to upholding our responsibility as a corporate citizen and giving back to the community through donations, sponsorships and volunteerism. We take care of our employees and constantly provide them with opportunities to grow in their careers while improving the quality of our talent pool.

And we actively practise the values of Standard Chartered and have risen to the occasion when the country needed us the most while making a significant contribution to the economy. All of this has contributed to the bank’s image, resulting in Standard Chartered being recognised as one of the most respected organisations in Sri Lanka.

Q: What will be your role in the next 12 months to help communities navigate the economic crisis?
A: There are three main components we will focus on to navigate the country through the economic crisis: clients, staff and suppliers. We are committed to protect and uphold relationships with our clients, which is of utmost importance as we navigate the crisis.

We are prioritising service requirements of multinational corporates domiciled in Sri Lanka, and Sri Lankan enterprises that are into manufacturing and exporting. It is also critical that we look after Sri Lankan corporates who are expanding into our network across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

We’re a significant bank in the foreign exchange (FX) business and it’s our duty to provide FX to essential sectors during this crisis. The bank plays a significant role in food, pharma and energy sectors.

As the banker of banks, we provide the required support for financial institutions to navigate the crisis by confirming critical letters of credit transactions. And we believe multilateral banks should play a role in providing trade financing for essential sectors until a potential agreement is arrived at with the IMF.

We’ve constantly ensured our employees have the best work conditions. In addition to the wide range of benefits and allowances that were provided to our staff during the pandemic, we have now taken steps to reduce financial stress on our staff owing to inflation by adapting timely ex gratia payments.

We have ensured the wellbeing of our suppliers especially those who provide us manpower services by increasing their salaries with a special allowance to help ease the rising cost of living.

And the Country Management Team of Standard Chartered Sri Lanka stepped up for our clients, staff and suppliers by making timely decisions to support them as we manage our way through this economic predicament.

A workforce’s quality is reflected in the service an organisation provides for clients and stakeholders. Ensuring employee wellbeing in gestures such as ensuring they’re equipped to work from home, living allowances and staff transport services at subsidised rates amid an economic crisis will take an organisation a long way.

QUICK-FIRE ROUND

Three recommendations to revive Sri Lanka’s economy
Debt restructuring and imple-menting a viable fiscal policy.
Government should work with multilaterals to avert the damage until the debt restructuring process is completed.
Active measures should be put in place to protect dollar income through exports along with other industries such as tourism.

Three most admired global business leaders
Nelson Mandela
Ratan Tata
Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa

Telephone 2480480  |  Website www.sc.com/lk