Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered is a London-based multi-national banking and financial services company. The bank operates in more than sixty markets and and employs more than 86,000 people through it's various locations. It's headquarters are in London. Standard Chartered offers private and commercial banking services.

In 2018, Standard Chartered applied for a virtual banking licence with the Honk Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Standard Chartered won the licence in May of 2019.

Incorporated in 1969 after the merger of the Standard bank of British South Africa and the Chartered bank of India, Australia and China. Standard Bank was originally founded by John Paterson in 1862 in Port Elizabeth. Chartered bank was originally founded by James Wilson in 1853. The name, Standard Chartered, comes from these two banks.

Since their founding, both Standard bank and Chartered bank focused their growth in emerging markets, such as tea, indigo, tobacco, hemp, silk, and diamonds. These markets were outside of the wider European community. Standard Chartered continues to focus their growth in markets outside of Europe.

In 1986, Lloyd's Bank made a hostile takeover bid of Standard Chartered. The bid was opposed with the help of Yue-Kong Pao, Tan Sri Khoo and Robert Holmes a Court.

In 2000, Standard Chartered acquired Grindlay's from Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) for £848 million. The acquisition grew Standard Chartered's presence in India, while extracting ANZ from the emerging markets risk.

In 2005, Standard Chartered beat HSBC Holdings in a big to acquire Korea First Bank for $3.3 billion. The acquisition grew Standard Chartered's presence in South Korea.

In 2012, Standard Chartered agreed to a USD $670 million settlement with US regulators over allegations the bank breached sanctions with Iran. The allegations suggested Standard Chartered helped Iranian clients around US financial sanctions. Detailed were around 60,000 transactions between 2001 and 2007. Part of the settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice saw the bank under supervision by an independent monitor. The bank also agreed to establish a financial crime risk mitigation program and upgrade its technology to meet the U.S. Department of Justice standards.

In 2019, Standard chartered was fined USD $900 million by US regulators over breaches of their settlement agreement of 2012 and £102 million to Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The US regulators fine is for breaches to US sanctions against Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. The FCA fine is for, what they called, serious and sustained shortcomings in Standard Chartered's financial crime controls.