In a statement today, Standard Chartered said the wholesale and consumer banking operations will be combined into one business from April this year under the newly appointed deputy chief executive of the bank Mike Rees.
The business will be organised into three customer segment groups and serviced by five global product groups.
Meddings had decided that this was "an appropriate time to step down from the board after a long and distinguished career with the group". the statement said.
Steve Bertamini, head of consumer banking, is also leaving.
Peter Sands, group chief executive “The reconfiguration of our business is a critical next step as we implement our refreshed strategy and reinvigorate our growth momentum.”
He added that this would “sharpen our focus on distinct customer segments, enabling us to deploy capital, liquidity and investment spend more effectively”.
At the start of this year, Standard Chartered also implemented a simplified structure of eight geographic regions to enable greater efficiency and effectiveness. Greater China, ASEAN, North East Asia, and South Asia will continue to report to Jaspal Bindra, group executive director and CEO Asia. Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, Africa, Europe and the Americas will continue to report to V. Shankar, group executive director and CEO MENAP, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Standard Chartered has faced a variety of problems over the last year including a $1bn writedown at its South Korea division, and more generally, weaker profits over the last year.
In 2012, Standard Chartered had to pay a $340m (£216m, €276m) penalty to the financial regulator of New York, in an embarrassing concession to accusations that it laundered money on behalf of Iran.
