Standard Chartered has appointed John Peace, a boardroom heavyweight known mostly for his retail experience, as its chairman.

The emerging markets bank confirmed the appointment today. Mr Peace is already on Standard Chartered’s board and has been acting chairman since Lord Davies of Abersoch left the bank in January to join the Government as Trade Minister.

Mr Peace, 60, is also chairman of Burberry, the luxury fashion chain, and Experian, the credit-checking firm that was spun off with Burberry from Great Universal Stores, the conglomerate that he broke up after becoming chief executive in 2000.

Mr Peace’s appointment at Standard Chartered will fill one of the vacant high-profile chairmanship roles in the financial sector. Lloyds Banking Group is searching for a new chairman after Sir Victor Blank said that he would step down, while UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body that manages the Government’s bank stakes, is seeking to replace its acting chairman Glen Moreno, who is also chairman of Pearson.

The three roles have attracted the same, small group of people. Sir Win Bischoff, the former chairman of Citigroup, is set to take the Lloyds role, having also been approached about the UKFI job. Sir Win was also seen as a contender for the role at Standard Chartered.

The London-listed bank has expanded rapidly in recent years on the back of strong economic growth in its markets in Asia and the Middle East. It is highly regarded in the City and in government circles for having avoided the pitfalls of the financial crisis and it has not taken any financial assistance from the taxpayer. Standard Chartered is understood to have been keen to appoint an experienced banker as its new chairman, reflecting the desire among investors and the Government for financial institutions to be run by individuals who understand the complexity of bank balance sheets. However, it has chosen Mr Peace because it believes that he has done a good job as acting chairman and is respected in the City.

The appointment is likely to mean that Mr Peace will not become chairman of J Sainsbury, another role that he has been tipped for.

Meanwhile, UKFI is continuing to search for a chairman. Some in the City favour Sir Brian Pitman, the former Lloyds TSB chief executive, for the role.

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