London-based bank Standard Chartered has recruited a top lawyer from Barclays' legal team. The new general counsel, currently based in London, will relocate to Singapore.
Lawyer Chris Allen is set to Standard Chartered's investment bank as its new general counsel (GC) for clients and products, the company said. He will officially start his role on 16 January and oversee legal across the bank's main business units including corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, private banking and wealth management.
Allen, who is currently based in London, will relocate to Singapore and report to GC David Fein, the bank's most senior lawyer.
Currently global head of regulatory policy across the investment bank, retail bank, corporate bank, wealth management and Barclaycard, Allen joined Barclays' investment division in 2004 as managing director for legal before his promotion for regulatory head in 2013.
Myriad Of Contentious Issues
Other stints in-house include serving as legal adviser to the OM London Securities and Derivatives Exchange and Clearing House from 1999 until 2001, followed by a turn in private practice as a lawyer at Baker & McKenzie. Allen began his career as a barrister at 11 Stone Buildings.
Allen's appointment comes as Standard Chartered faces a myriad of contentious issues, particularly in the U.S. where it remains under supervision over lapses in controls over transactions involving Iran and other countries.
