The London-based bank intends to hire 500 people in the next few months, said Mary Huen Wai-yi, country head of consumer banking.

The bank mainly expects to fill various frontline positions, including customer relations managers. A recruitment day will be held this weekend.

Standard Chartered has already added 400 frontline staff so far this year, she said.

The bank is also looking for suitable sites for opening or relocating branches.

Rival lender HSBC (0005) was among the first local lenders to reverse the layoff trend in the city. Having laid off 650 people since late last year, it expanded its staff by 100 in August.

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While HSBC's insurance business announced late last month that it is looking for financial services officers, Peter Wong Tung-shun, executive director of local unit Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, said last week that the bank still plans to hire more staff.

Bank of East Asia (0023) said in September it plans to add 120 new staff, citing an optimistic outlook in the second half.

Meanwhile, Huen said new tax loan benefits Standard Chartered launched four weeks ago are well-received by clients. Industry competition for these loans has always been fierce, she added, and the peak is expected in December.

On the SME loan front, a spokeswoman for Hang Seng Bank (0011) said the bank has approved 4,500 applications, totaling more than HK$12.8 billion, as of last Friday.

The bank is offering interest rates for SME loans as low as prime minus 2 percent, or an effective rate of 3 percent, on a par with what HSBC is offering.