Leonard Feder, group head of financial markets for wholesale banking at Standard Chartered, is bullish on Asia: “We are Asia-focused and the opportunity is huge.”

Feder joined Standard Chartered in Singapore in 2007 after 11 years with Bear Stearns, where he spearheaded growth in Asia, increased staff fourfold and revenues 15-fold. Last year, Standard Chartered's Asian operations contributed $3.9bn of the firm's worldwide $5.1bn in pre-tax profits.