The Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) will introduce a number of new products to meet the requirements of its expanding corporate clients for hedging currency, interest rate and commodity price risk-subject to the approval of the regulating authorities.

These new products will minimise the risk of the customers ’in the foreign exchange business, said Claude Lobo, the Regional Head ol Treasury of Middle-East and South Asia zone of SCB in an interview with The Daily Star recently

Lobo, who came to Dhaka on a short visit from his headquarters in Dubai last week, said that the new products were currency options forward rate agreement, interest rate swaps and options and commodity swaps and options.

Customers here are not getting what they get in the west. Customer services should

be given more emphasis and the SCB just wants to do that, the Indian Ixxn banker said

Noting that the treasury of the SCB was number one in the banking sector of Bangladesh he said. Bangladesh is an emerging market. Bangladesh Bank has adopted a very progressive stance towards

market deregulation and it is pleasing to see the progress that has been made in this direction "

Lobo, who is heading SCB treasuries of eight countries including Oman. Qatar. UAE. Bahrain. India. Pakistan, Shri Lanka and Bangladesh, observed that the banking sector of Bangladesh had improved significantly over the last -18 months and it was now only a matter of time that the BB would be able to make Taka fully convertible.

Focussing on the profile of SCB. which has undergone a dramatic change with the establishment of the Middle-East and South Asia Regional office in Dubai In January 1993, Claude Lobo said that the 150 year-old bank was a success story in developing countries as it utilised local banking intelligence and pro-moted exotic currencies in international dealings.