The line on phone banking

This is in reference to our customer, Mr. Adrianus Hiyung T., whose letters to the editor were published in your publication of July 16 and July 17.

By way of clarification, our submission is that while Mr. Adrianus's views are factually incorrect, every policy in Standard Chartered has been set with the sole objective of preserving customer safety, confidentiality and the best ethical standards in a bid to provide our business partners a service that is truly world class. This bears pertinence to the situation in Indonesia, specifically Jakarta.

Turning to the specific issue, pleased be advised that our customers do not need to physically come to the bank to close their deposit accounts. The bank will accept written instructions either by mail, messenger or indeed receive disposal instructions at the time of account opening itself. While phone banking is indeed an operating convenience, Standard Chartered Bank has made an exception to limit the range of financial transactions in this medium in the interest of ensuring that our customers are not put to undue risk. For your information, foreign banks in Indonesia do not support across the board third party external transfers via phone banking for similar reasons.

Thank you for the opportunity given to clarify this matter.

FARHAD D IRANI

Head of Consumer Banking,

Indonesia

Standard Chartered Bank

Jakarta