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Turning around the Standard Chartered story in India, Zarin Daruwala is optimistic about the changes she sees
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Standard Chartered (SC) India was the second-largest contributor to the group’s global profits in 2020 and is among its top three franchises for income and profits in 2021. This fact is interesting when compared to 2016 when the bank posted large losses and lagged across businesses. This was the year Zarin Daruwala took charge.
Her immediate mandate was rebuilding existing businesses like corporate and institutional banking to make it stronger and sustainable and scaling up the retail banking business with cutting edge technology, competitive products and sharper client focus. Daruwala had to plan and deliver a transformation that included diverse areas of business, risk, governance and culture, and she continues to do this.
“The last six years have been tough but rewarding. We have turned around the business and posted an impressive set of results across. The bank is back to sustained growth and profits. This is a journey without full stops though, so there’s always a lot more to do,” she says as she looks back.
India@75 – The Powerhouse
Today, the cluster CEO for India and South Asia markets including Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka at Standard Chartered Bank is bullish on India’s digital prowess.
“Digital is a tremendous source of competitive strength, and the government looks to grow its contribution to GDP from 8 per cent to 20 per cent in five years. With some of the largest public digital platforms in the world such as Aadhaar and UPI, democratised data access and a strong digital infrastructure, coupled with being home to a fourth of all engineers globally, are tailwinds for India to grow as a technological powerhouse.”
The Biases Within
Reflecting on women's inclusion in India, Daruwala says bias and glass ceilings exist across industries in India and abroad. Some manifest through assumptive biases and cultural stereotypes, some industries have lower women representation, and across sectors there is lower representation in top management and board positions for women.
“Glass ceiling exists within women. We as women need to shed self-doubts and organisations need accept that women wear many hats. Women’s ability to juggle multiple roles is a strength and as leaders, we must help them maximise it,” says Daruwala.