With its Bangladesh roots reaching back 118 years, Standard Chartered understands the market better than many international peers.
In 2022, the bank, under CEO Naser Ezaz Bijoy, dominated all export and import financing and led SME lending among foreign banks. It was also at the centre of the year’s top mergers and acquisitions deals, structured export transactions, and large projects, while also maintaining its commanding position in retail finance.
The overriding rationale for Standard Chartered winning our best international bank award, however, is its work in sustainable finance. This being Bangladesh, the bank is certainly active in the energy, power, transportation and urban development sectors. But 2022 was the year Bijoy’s team shifted the bank’s net-zero ambitions into high gear.
Over the last 12 months, Standard Chartered has financed innovative startups championing low-carbon activities, supported sustainable agriculture and arranged the nation’s first green zero-coupon bonds.
The bank introduced several other firsts in 2022. These include transmitting Bangladesh’s first end-to-end digital cross-border letter of credit; completing the first automated over-the-weekend loan disbursement; the first international online learning platform for entrepreneurs; and the first department generating bespoke solutions for clients.
Standard Chartered has also prioritized an effort to, in Bijoy’s words, “reset globalization.”