Standard Chartered, Singapore labor mull digital bank venture: report

The plan is still in its early stages.

Standard Chartered is planning its second digital-only bank in Asia in partnership with a unit of Singapore’s labor union NTUC, reports Bloomberg.

Standard Chartered will hold a majority stake in the venture, with the remaining stake belonging to NTUC Enterprise which runs a chain of supermarkets across the country, sources said.

Alex Twigg, co-founder of Australia’s Judo Bank, has been tapped for the business, code-named “Project Phoenix”. Talks on the new initiative are ongoing and the plan is at an early stage.

Standard Chartered is boosting its digital strategy in Singapore to compete with larger local rivals such as DBS and non-bank challengers including Grab.

Here’s more from Bloomberg.