Standard Chartered tumult writ large in Mideast amid exits

Nowhere, perhaps, is the turmoil at Standard Chartered Plc more evident than in the Middle East, as an exodus of top managers and exits from regional businesses threaten to undermine the bank's top five position in debt capital markets.

While Viswanathan Shankar, Dubai-based chief executive officer for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, is the highest-profile departure to date, others are rapidly following. Afaq Khan, global head of Islamic banking, Mohsin Ali Nathani, CEO for the United Arab Emirates and Hassan Jarrar, CEO for Bahrain, are all leaving or will do so, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified.

The departures coincide with a push by local banks to muscle in on the bank's traditional strength as an arranger of syndicated loans and bond deals in the Gulf. National Bank of Abu Dhabi has risen six positions since the end of 2013 to second place in terms of bond transactions this year, the spot Standard Chartered held at the end of 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The London-based bank is in fifth place this year. Emirates NBD, the largest Dubai bank, is another local lender also climbing the rankings, advancing to sixth so far this year, compared with ninth in 2013.