Cross-pollination from the investment bank has helped Standard Chartered draw new clients for its private bank.

Standard Chartered Private Bank, the wealth management arm of the UK-listed banking group, picked up record new clients through cross-referrals from the corporate and wholesale bank during the first half of this year, as the bank eyes the growing pool of wealthy entrepreneurs in Asia.

Chief executive of Standard Chartered Private Bank Shayne Nelson, told WealthBriefingAsia that last year 17 per cent of new private banking clients came from internal referrals of existing corporate clients. Already referrals this year are on track to overtake last year's total, he said, without breaking out figures.

"Collaborations between the private bank and Wholesale Banking, and SME Banking have been very strong. Particularly in Asia where 63 per cent of high net worth individuals have their own businesses, this is an area of increasing focus for us," Nelson told WealthBriefingAsia on a conference call.

In April the bank launched the High Value Client Coverage business, which brings together its private banking, priority banking, SME banking, international banking, and Islamic banking client offerings.

The structure is meant to enhance internal collaboration and is geared towards building a stronger client focus into its consumer banking business. Nelson was appointed global head of the business and has made several internal appointments from the corporate bank to facilitate the new division. 

The news adds shine to a solid set of first half results published today. Standard Chartered said income for the first six months of this year across the bank is expected to grow at a double-digit rate when compared to the same period of 2010.

In its consumer banking arm, StanChart said its wealth management division had proven to be “particularly strong”, without giving numbers.

The bank, which earns the bulk of its revenues in emerging markets, has made a number of significant hires within its wealth management arm in recent weeks as it bulks up its presence in countries like India.

In a pre-close statement, StanChart said “sources of income growth remain well diversified, both by product and geography”.

“Whilst income in India is lower than in the first half of 2010 and growth in Africa has been muted, this has been more than offset by very strong performances in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, MESA, China and Indonesia,” the bank said.