Standard Chartered's commodities head Arun Murthy to retire

[SINGAPORE] Arun Murthy, Standard Chartered Plc's global head of commodities, is retiring after eight years with the London-based lender.

His last day is June 13, Valerie Tay, a Singapore-based spokeswoman for the bank, said in an e-mail Friday. Jeremy East, the bank's head of metals trading and commodities for Greater China and North Asia, has been named as interim global head of commodities.

Mr Murthy oversaw a unit that Standard Chartered established in 2007 amid a rally that took commodities prices to unprecedented levels the following year. He managed the business through the financial crisis and as the China-led global slowdown brought an end to the resources boom. The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks returns from 22 raw materials, has tumbled more than 60 per cent from its mid-2008 peak.

East joined Standard Chartered in 2006 and led the bank's entry into the Shanghai Gold Exchange, according to Mr Tay's e-mail. He has 25 years of experience in commodities.

Gene Kim, regional head of financial markets for Greater China and North Asia, left Standard Chartered at the end of April.

BLOOMBERG