Standard Chartered client chief said to exit as Winters starts

[LONDON] Standard Chartered Plc's global head of client coverage, Sean Wallace, is leaving, one of the first senior executives to depart since Bill Winters became chief executive officer, a person familiar with the matter said.

James Courtenay, head of global corporates, will assume Mr Wallace's duties until the bank finds a permanent replacement, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn't been made public. Wallace, who was responsible for the bank's relationships with its biggest corporate clients, will leave at the end of this month, the person said. Neither man responded to e-mails seeking comment.

Mr Wallace's exit adds to the turnover in Standard Chartered's senior management team since Peter Sands announced in February that he would step down. Mr Winters, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co investment banker, is seeking to reverse two years of declining profit and rebuild investor confidence in Standard Chartered, whose stock has dropped 21 per cent in the past 12 months, the worst performance among Britain's banks.

Along with Mr Sands, Viswanathan Shankar, former Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas CEO, and ex-Asia head Jaspal Bindra, also stepped down this year. John Peace will step down as chairman next year. The bank named Naguib Kheraj as senior independent director on Wednesday. Mr Kheraj, a former finance director at Barclays Plc, will lead the search for Peace's replacement.

Mr Winters, 53, pledged in a letter to employees on June 10, his first day in the job, to focus on bolstering capital. He also said he would give details on his senior management team "following the summer" and his broader plans by the year-end.

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