StanChart Mideast bankers said to leave amid job cuts

Standard Chartered is considering cutting as many as 250 of about 1,000 managing directorsBloombergDubaiMorad Mahlouji, Standard Chartered’s head of financial markets for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, has left as the London-based lender merges its Mena and Africa businesses, according to two people with knowledge of the plan.Dinesh Khanna, head of transaction banking in the region, will also leave the bank, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Rahil Taneja, head of financial markets for Standard Chartered in Africa, will add the Middle East region to his role, the people said. David Law, head of corporate finance for Africa, will also take on corporate finance in the Middle East.Sunil Kaushal, the bank’s chief executive officer for the Middle East and Africa, announced the changes last week, the people said. A spokesman for the bank in Dubai wouldn’t comment on speculation around individuals or roles.Standard Chartered is considering cutting as many as 250 of about 1,000 managing directors as part of a plan by CEO Bill Winters to reverse a two-year profit slide at the emerging markets-focused lender, people with knowledge with the matter said earlier this month. Some of the positions will be in the bank’s Middle East and North Africa operations, one of the people said. Winters is seeking ways to restore investor confidence after replacing Peter Sands in June. The bank said in August that it’s on track to cut costs by more than $400mn this year as part of plans laid out by Sands to save about $1.8bn through 2017. It has cut about 4,000 jobs this year, about 5% of total headcount.