Hana Financial, Standard Chartered Sign Finance MOU

Hana Financial Group, one of South Korea's largest financial conglomerates, signed a memorandum of understanding with British multinational bank Standard Chartered on March 13 in Seoul to expand cooperation in global finance and digital assets. The agreement, finalized at Hana Bank's headquarters and attended by Hana Chairman Ham Youngjoo and Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters, aims to combine the institutions' networks and expertise for joint initiatives in investment banking, capital markets, foreign exchange, and blockchain-based services.

The partnership focuses on leveraging each company's strengths to explore emerging opportunities in traditional and digital finance. Officials from both banks stated that the collaboration will include work on stablecoins, deposit-token experiments, and tokenized instruments, building on regulatory developments in the region. Hana Financial Group brings deep knowledge of the South Korean market and a substantial domestic client base, while Standard Chartered offers extensive global reach, particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, along with established digital asset services such as custody and institutional trading.