Best in India - Standard Chartered Bank

India's structured products market is still in its infancy, and has been as vulnerable to the fallout from losses on Lehman Brothers Minibonds as most other markets in Asia. Despite these drawbacks, Standard Chartered Bank has stood firm, ramping up education, implementing strict suitability criteria, keeping a close eye on credit risk, and helping to achieve its goal of the 'retailisation' of the market in a sustainable manner.

Perhaps most importantly, StanChart can claim its diligent approach to credit risk as one of the reasons it did not distribute Lehman products. "We only work with issuers of the highest quality," says Gaurav Perti, Mumbai-based product manager for investment services at the bank. "We maintained a distance from Lehman, even before they had their problems last year." Even if it meant accepting less attractive product terms, the bank deemed it imperative to select only those issuers with higher