Ray Ferguson

It is a big change from his last posting with the bank. He spent two-and-a-half years in Indonesia wrestling with the challenges of a very different emerging market. Having survived this tough experience Mr. Ferguson is happy to have landed in Dubai for both personal and professional reasons.



'After working in five different countries in the past 10 years it is important to me to do a good stretch in the UAE,' he says. 'This country is also more secure for my family so we all have more freedom of movement. There are also not the pollution problems of Jakarta, and the business opportunities are better.'



Mr. Ferguson speaks with all the enthusiasm of a recent convert to the UAE's economic development strategy, and for those of us who have lived here a long time it is interesting to hear this re-statement of what is going on under our noses.



'The UAE has a vision,' he says, 'When you start to connect all the initiatives that are going on - the DIC, DMC, DIFC, Emirates Airline's expansion, Palm Island, the DHCC, and Emaar Properties - and add it all together it amounts to an exciting vision of a regional business centre and a commitment to achieving international standards.



'September 11th had an interesting impact on this process and speeded it up because Arabs are now more comfortable using services in Dubai than travelling abroad for the same thing.



'What is also interesting is that we are only seeing the start of many of these projects. In the construction phase, for example, Palm Island employs thousands of labourers which will have some impact on the local economy. But what happens when the thousands of rich residents move in and the hotels are full? Building is one thing - the operational effect on the local economy will be much bigger.'



From the bank's point of view, Mr. Ferguson views this as a 'fantastic franchise'. He notes that the Dubai Internet City and Dubai International Financial Centre will employ tens of thousands of high spenders who will all need credit cards and car loans from Standard Chartered Bank.



'Of course we are in discussions with the DIFC, I saw them only yesterday,' he adds. 'We have to evaluate exactly what to do but it's obviously a powerful future pillar of the local economy and we will identify products and business segments to align with it.



'It's the same story with mortgages. The Dubai real estate market is taking off. And is it likely that we will want to be involved? Absolutely!'



However, this 39 year old British career banker who also holds Australian nationality admits that 2003 is still an uncertain year for the bank because of the war clouds that hang over the region.



'We have plans for all contingencies,' he says. 'If the UAE economy were to begin to contract, then we would respond. But we really do not see this happening and there is no change to our business strategy due to the situation in Iraq.



'Indeed, the UAE will probably benefit in the initial six months with domestic business growing, while wholesale lending and trade finance and trade in and out of the Gulf will decline. But growth in our credit card and auto loan business will compensate.'



Meanwhile, Standard Chartered is reshuffling its UAE branch network to maximum advantage, and recently shut its Bank Street branch in favour of opening a new one in the Gold Souk. Since acquiring ANZ Grindlays a few years ago, Standard Chartered has been in the unusual position of having 11 branches in the UAE rather than the usual limit of eight for a foreign bank.



Mr. Ferguson says this reflects the level of investment in the Grindlays' acquisition and says that more branch changes will follow over the next few months.



He also stresses his personal commitment to increasing the number of UAE Nationals employed by the bank, presently at 27% and due to rise to 30% this year. 'It's not an easy target to meet and something we take very seriously,' he adds.



Clearly this is quite an agenda for the year ahead and comes as Standard Chartered Bank celebrates its 150th anniversary and 80 years in the Gulf. 'We will be rolling out special events to celebrate this anniversary through-out the year,' says Mr. Ferguson. 'We have been here a long time and should really be regarded as a local and not a foreign bank.'