Abrar A Anwar will only be the second Bangladeshi to lead the British behemoth's local operations.

Now the head of corporate and institutional clients at SCB, Anwar will replace Jim McCabe, who joins Standard Chartered Sri Lanka as CEO after five years in Bangladesh.

McCabe has “delivered impressive revenue growth, diversifying the business beyond traditional banking into sophisticated financial solutions to meet the more complex needs of corporates”, SCB said in a statement.

“Abrar is a hugely talented member of our team and he has already made a major contribution to our success, under Jim McCabe's leadership,” Sunil Kaushal, CEO of Standard Chartered's South Asia operations, said on Anwar's appointment.

Kaushal lauded Abrar's ' deep knowledge of Bangladesh', which he described as ' a key growth market for us globally'.

"Our customers and clients will take this exciting business to new heights,” Kaushal added.

Anwar, who has more than 23 years of experience in international banking in Bangladesh, India and the UK, joined Stanchart in 2011.

His elevation to the top of the largest foreign bank in Bangladesh is in line with the recent trend among multinationals to appoint Bangladeshi professionals to manage their local operations.