EXCLUSIVE

STANDARD Chartered, the emerging markets bank, is close to confirming acting chairman John Peace as its new chairman, sources said last night.

The impending appointment, after a period of search led by consultants Egon Zehnder, means it is ever more likely that Win Bischoff, the 67 year-old former chairman of Citigroup, will take the job as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, as reported by City PM yesterday.

Bischoff, who spent periods in the far east earlier in his career with Schroders, had been tempted by the Standard Chartered job and had been in talks about the role.

But City PM was told yesterday that the Standard Chartered board is keen to appoint Peace, who has been acting chairman since Lord (Mervyn) Davies left the group earlier this year to become trade minister.

Peace is also chairman of the Burberry luxury goods group.

“It’s not that we didn’t think Win was a very strong candidate but we just think that John has been doing a very good job for the bank,” a source close to the bank told this newspaper yesterday.