The UK-listed bank has brought in a top manager from Barclays to be regional head, private banking, Greater China and North Asia.

Standard Chartered today said it has appointed Vivian Chan as the regional head, private banking for Greater China and North Asia. The appointment takes effect from January next year and will be based in Hong Kong and report to Didier von Daeniken, the global head for private banking and wealth management.

With more than 30 years of experience in the sector, Chan joins from Barclays where she was regional head of North Asia, private banking, since 2013. Prior to this, she held senior leadership roles at Credit Suisse and Citibank, UK-listed Standard Chartered said in a statement today.

Chan takes over from Desmond Liu, who led the private banking business from 2012; he retires from Standard Chartered at the end of 2016, having spent more than 30 years in the private bank sector.

"Vivian's proven track record in understanding UHNW client needs and her ability to build enduring relationships with them will be a real asset, as we seek to provide bespoke private banking products and services to generations of entrepreneurs in the region," von Daeniken said.

The move by Chan comes after Barclays, as already reported earlier this year, sold its private banking operations in Hong Kong and Singapore to OCBC, following a similar move in 2014 by Societe Generale to sell its Asian private banking business to DBS.

At the start of July, Standard Chartered appointed former senior Barclays manager Srinivas (“Srini”) Siripurapu as regional head, private banking, ASEAN & South Asia and as global head, non-resident Indian clients. Siripurapu took over the regional leadership for ASA from Peter Kok, whose role is now combined within the former’s expanded remit.