Standard Chartered Bank, Qatar – Tom Aaker (Q&A)

With years of banking experience under his belt, Tom Aaker — chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Qatar and North Africa — has an expansive resume. Aaker joined SCB in 1993 and has held numerous senior positions around the globe, from Hong Kong to London, Zambia and the USA. Currently, Aaker is a board member of SCB Botswana, SCB Zimbabwe and Corpmed Medical Center. Executive recently conducted an exclusive interview with the bank’s top man, discussing the current banking situation in Qatar and around the region. E What strategies will Qatar banks use in 2009? How will they differ from 2008? Standard Chartered Group had an exceptional performance in 2008. Profits were up 19 percent from 2007 globally and that was up from the year before. We are one of the very few banks in the world that had significant earnings growth from 2007 to 2008 and the