Exclusive: Inside Standard Chartered’s new Europe transaction banking strategy - Trade Treasury Payments

In June, Standard Chartered announced two new senior hires to drive the expansion of its transaction banking business in Europe and the UK, with an objective to deepen regional client relationships and connect corporates to high-growth markets across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Andreas Bock joins as Head of Transaction Banking Corporate Cash Sales, Europe and UK, based in Frankfurt. He brings more than two decades of experience, most recently leading Global Liquidity and Cash Management for Continental Europe at HSBC. Christophe Baumann, previously Head of Global Trade Solutions for Nordic Countries at BNP Paribas, has been appointed Head of Transaction Banking Corporate Trade Sales, Europe and UK. Based in Stockholm, Christophe’s career spans senior roles at Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas across Europe and the Middle East.

Both will report to Marion Reuter, Head of Transaction Banking UK and Europe and Head of Transaction Banking Corporate Sales UK and Europe, who has led the function since August 2024. In her expanded role, Marion oversees product, corporate and financial institution (FI) sales, and implementation teams across the UK, Germany, Nordics and France, serving corporates, non-bank FIs, and public sector clients across the region.

TTP spoke with Marion, Andreas, and Christophe to understand how these new appointments support the Bank’s strategy, and what’s next for European clients navigating an increasingly complex liquidity and trade environment.

A pivotal region for growth

Marion Reuter emphasised the importance of Europe in Standard Chartered’s global strategy, particularly for clients seeking cross-border support in emerging markets.

“Standard Chartered has a unique network and rich history, operating for 170 years in some our markets. The depth of services we offer across Asia, Africa and the Middle East is very attractive to our European clients… Our global network means we can support their cross-border cash management and trade finance needs with expert advice and a comprehensive product offering which fits with their own growth objectives.”

Marion added that her team’s growth priorities this year are focused on enabling clients’ strategic goals across supply chain finance, cash and trade solutions.

“Whether that’s setting up a Regional Treasury Centre in an African market, supporting their cross-border treasury transactions to the UAE, providing a trade facility into Asia or achieving FX centralisation… We are also working more with Fintech and Paytech companies. We believe collaboration is key to providing innovative solutions.”

The cash opportunity: Centralisation, APIs, and analytics

Andreas Bock sees significant headroom for innovation in the European cash management space.

“The biggest opportunities lie in accelerating digitalisation to automate processes, reduce errors, and enhance efficiency… Embracing open banking and APIs facilitates seamless integration between corporate systems and banks, supporting secure and transparent transactions.”

At Standard Chartered, that digital vision is already being implemented through a suite of real-time APIs, embedded liquidity tools, and digital gateways.

“Standard Chartered leverages a suite of digital tools, including real-time APIs—over 160 of them… Automated liquidity management platforms, S2BL (Straight2Bank Liquidity), use advanced analytics and APIs to optimise cash positions and streamline global liquidity.

“Additionally, Standard Chartered invests in innovation through blockchain and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiatives, while maintaining robust security and compliance frameworks to ensure safe, regulatory-compliant operations.”

Trade in transition: Rewiring routes and rebuilding trust

With the trade landscape in flux, Christophe Baumann pointed to an urgent need for corporates to rethink strategy and supply chains.

“Corporates in Europe need to re-think their strategy in terms of markets and supply chain… Standard Chartered’s strength lies in our high growth footprint markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East… to bridge trade corridors with these markets and bring them strategic advisory rooted in deep regional knowledge.”

His Nordic experience with large exporters, combined with global tenures, positions him to guide clients through this shift.

“Having worked in an international environment across several diverse geographies… gives me a solid foundation to shape a differentiated and effective approach to growing trade sales… championing sustainable trade finance and digitalisation.

“My most recent experience during the last 14 years with large Nordic exporters gave me an insight into supply chain needs to structure cross-border trade solutions… and my ambition is to use this experience to understand and answer our clients’ needs across Europe.”

Responding to change: From resilience to readiness

Marion noted that clients across Europe are facing increasing complexity in managing liquidity and trade flows, particularly in sectors like automotive and retail.

“The current market uncertainty and fast evolving macroeconomic landscape make it ever more difficult for our clients to plan far ahead… Our cross-border network offers a combination of wide-ranging solutions and expertise, which makes us well placed to respond as our clients seek to adapt.

“This is very relevant for existing supplier finance programmes which potentially need to be adjusted based on shifting trade flows… as well as liquidity management structures which might need to be adjusted based on changed currency and liquidity demands.”

She believes the new hires bring the right experience at the right time.

“Andreas and Christophe are both a great addition to the TB Corporate Sales team… We are strengthening existing relationships across the breadth of our network, and also building new relationships as we look to collaborate with partners as the trade and payments industry evolves.

“We have the ecosystem to deliver innovative solutions, and Andreas and Christophe have joined Standard Chartered at a very exciting moment on our clients’ transformation journey.”

TTP will continue to follow the Bank’s expanding efforts in Europe and its evolving role in connecting corporates to global growth markets.