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Standard Chartered has appointed Maria Ramos as its new chair in what is expected to be the first part of a leadership transition at the London-based bank.
The former chief executive of South African bank Absa will succeed José Viñals, a former IMF executive and central banker whose nine-year tenure ends this year. She will take over following the lender’s annual general meeting on May 8.
Ramos, a StanChart board member since 2021, will take up the post at a crucial time for the Asia-focused bank. It has to navigate heightened US-China tensions and the possible end of a profit boost from rising interest rates.
Crucially, Ramos is likely to oversee the search for a new chief executive as Bill Winters nears a decade in the post, making him the longest-serving CEO of a major UK bank.
StanChart makes the majority of its profits in Asia, with the rest mostly coming from emerging markets. The bank delivered strong results last quarter and reinforced its dedication to serving affluent clients by tapping into wealth management, a desirable area for lenders as interest rates come off their highs.
The London- and Hong Kong-listed bank has been under pressure to lift its shares, which still trade at a discount to book value despite having risen more than 80 per cent in the past 12 months. Winters last year lamented the bank’s “crap” share price.
Viñals’ tenure encompassed a tumultuous period for StanChart as it sought to resolve alleged sanctions violations that predated his arrival.
The bank was subject to a deferred prosecution agreement until 2021, under which it paid $1.1bn to settle charges brought by UK and US authorities over sanctions breaches.
The appointment of Ramos concludes a more than year-long search for Viñals’ replacement. UK Treasury veteran Sir Charles Roxburgh and former health secretary Sir Sajid Javid were among those sounded out for the position.
Ramos will relocate from South Africa to London and receive an annual salary of £1.3mn, just slightly above the £1.25mn Viñals was awarded when he became chair in 2016.
The 65-year-old served as chief executive of South Africa’s third-largest bank from 2009 to 2019 and oversaw its separation from its former UK parent Barclays. Until last summer she was chair of gold miner AngloGold Ashanti.
