StanChart Revamps Hong Kong Branches

Standard Chartered continues making transformations to its physical presence in Hong Kong, including plans to revamp its branches in the city.

Standard Chartered will revamp its Hong Kong branches with plans to create paperless services with more digitalization, according to its chief executive for the market Mary Huen during a post-results briefing. More private rooms will also be built for in-person meetings between clients and their wealth managers.

Branch visits fell 25 percent during the pandemic, Huen said, with more demand for financial services through digital channels.

The bank will look to add, relocate or close some branches with the aim of maintaining 70 in the city.

Elsewhere in the city, where the bank employs around 6,000 workers, Standard Chartered is already making changes to its physical presence.

It is shedding multiple floors from its Hong Kong main office and renting out space from another office located in an industrial district in the eastern part of the city.

In November last year, the bank said it would roll out flexible working options for around half of its 85,000 staff worldwide by early 2021. Standard Chartered employees in Hong Kong reportedly started using co-working spaces last month operated by IWG as part of a 12-month trial for access to 3,500 offices globally.