CEO review and succession planning is an important responsibility for company boards. We are of the view that boards should have in place an annual succession review as a matter of good governance and board discipline. Such reviews should also cover key or critical senior management, such as risk.

We note that Standard Chartered Board has embarked on an orderly CEO and management succession and transition. We welcome the thoughtful process which the Board must have gone through under the leadership of Chairman, Sir John Peace.

We further note that board renewal is another critical responsibility for boards to undertake.

We commend the thoughtful approach led by Sir John to renew and revitalise his Board over the last couple of years.

This on-going process for board renewal must continue as the requirements and challenges facing the banking and financial sector across the world have become much more complex and onerous.

We take this opportunity to welcome Bill Winters as the next CEO of Standard Chartered, to build on and grow its excellent franchise. He brings with him considerable experience as well as an excellent reputation for building good teams.

We thank Peter Sands for his leadership and contributions at Standard Chartered over the last 13 years, and wish him well in his future endeavours.

We also thank the board members, past and present, who have helped steer and guide Standard Chartered over the years.