Zareen Nowreen Sharif

Four years on two of the most demanding trade desks in the country. I manage client relationships, worked on trade learning and development, and processed trade transactions.

Zareen Nowreen Sharif holding her Financial Crime and Compliance certificate, Dhaka
DhakaDecember 2024
Assistant Manager, Trade Relationship City Bank PLC Previously Standard Chartered IBA, Jahangirnagar University

Trade finance is the part of banking nobody photographs. My days are letters of credit, sanctions checks, documents that have to be exactly right, and corporate clients who need an answer today.

I've spent four years there. This is where I've been, what I've built, and a few of the things I do outside it too.

01 Work

Two banks, one discipline

I moved from processing high volumes of trade transactions, to resolving what goes wrong on them, to owning the client relationship outright.

Dec 2025 → Assistant Manager, Trade Relationship City Bank PLC I'm the primary point of contact for a portfolio of corporate clients. I coordinate Trade Operations, Credit and Compliance to resolve issues inside agreed service times, and I run client onboarding and training.
2024 – 2025 Senior Officer, Trade Operations Standard Chartered Bank I was the key contact for resolving trade transaction issues across Compliance, Credit and Relationship teams. I supported audits through structured documentation and issue tracking, and served on the Trade Learning and Development team at the same time.
2022 – 2024 Officer, Trade Operations Standard Chartered Bank I processed high volumes of trade transactions under regulatory and internal control standards, and handled internal queries across teams.
02 Recognised

By the people who watch me work

Not self-reported. Awarded internally, and examined externally.

Zareen receiving the Spot Award on the Trade Operations floor at Standard Chartered Bangladesh
Spot Award · Q4 2023

Named on the floor, by the floor

Standard Chartered's Spot Award recognises individual contribution inside the quarter it happens. Mine came from Trade Operations, Bangladesh.

Professional examination

JAIBB, 99th Banking Professional Examination

The Institute of Bankers, Bangladesh. The standard professional qualification for the country's banking sector. I sat and passed it alongside a full-time trade role.

Also held

Foundation Course on Banking, BIBM.

Certificate of completion, Financial Crime and Compliance Certification Program, BRAC University with Standard Chartered Bank
Financial crime & compliance · December 2024

Certified in the part of banking that cannot be got wrong

A certification programme devised jointly by Standard Chartered Bank and BRAC Business School, signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh and the Acting Dean of BRAC Business School.

03 Knowledge Sharing

I don't just work the desk. I share what I know

Trade finance is famously hard to learn. At Standard Chartered I joined the Trade Learning and Development team alongside my full operations role, breaking down complex processes for the people around me.

Zareen at the Trade Debate Finale, Standard Chartered Bangladesh, 2 December 2025

Trade Debate Finale, organised by the Trade Learning and Development team. 2 December 2025.

“Fantastic moderation from your end, very well done” Munazzir Shehmat Karim
on the Trade Debate Finale, LinkedIn

I hosted and moderated the competition, in front of a panel of senior trade judges.

Read the post

The Trade Learning and Development team at the Trade Debate Finale, Standard Chartered Bangladesh

The Trade Learning and Development team, Standard Chartered Bangladesh.

04 Judging

I share my expertise as a competition judge

I've had the privilege of judging business case competitions on multiple occasions. Each one is a chance to guide undergraduate teams, share what I've learned, and evaluate how well they grasp the fundamentals of business, helping them see the real business world a little more clearly and turn their fresh thinking into real impact.

Breaking Brand judging poster naming Zareen Nowreen Sharif, Assistant Manager Trade Relationship, City Bank PLC
Breaking Brand · Round 2

IBA–JU Business Club

I judged Breaking Brand, Round 2. My own university, inviting me back as an expert.

Biznation 3.0 second round judging poster naming Zareen Nowreen Sharif, City Bank
Biznation 3.0 · Second round

IUT Career & Business Society

I judged the second round of Biznation 3.0 by IUT. July 2026.

05 Before the desk

I've done this alone before

In 2020 I reached the Grand Finale of ProMark, a national inter-university competition, as a team of one. My team name was UNO. I placed first runner up, against full teams.

“She was the one-woman army of the Grand Finale” Finance Club, Department of Finance
University of Dhaka · September 2020

Two years earlier I'd already won The Game Changer 2018, the national business case competition run by Bikroy.com.

The announcement

ProMark 2020 announcement naming UNO from IBA Jahangirnagar University as first runner up

ProMark 2020, first runner up. Competing as UNO, a team of one.

Zareen holding the winning cheque at The Game Changer 2018 business competition final by Bikroy.com
Champion · 2018

The Game Changer, Bikroy.com

National inter-university business case competition. First prize.

Admission · 2016

Third in the country's female merit list

Institute of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University. I went on to a BBA in Finance.

IBA Jahangirnagar University 2016-17 admission merit list showing Zareen Nowreen Sharif at position three
Banglalink Virtual Internship Program testimonial featuring Zareen Nowreen Sharif
Internship

Banglalink Virtual Internship Program

I was selected, and asked to represent the programme publicly.

The other hand

Creativity from lead pencils to digital platforms: exploring my creative side

It started as something just for me. Over time it grew into freelance illustration for Sheraspace, and a seat on the creative team at Leftover Pizza Creative, an advertising agency in Dhanmondi, working alongside their designers and strategists on client projects. The work is collected on Behance.

Portfolio

06 Off the desk

I keep showing up

I take my health as seriously as I take my work. Long distance running and strength training keep me disciplined.

Zareen running the ActivePulse 15K at night in Dhaka
ActivePulse 15K · 2024  ·  Cox's Bazar Marathon

Fifteen kilometres, then twenty one

I finished the ActivePulse 15K in Dhaka in 2:46:01, then went back for the Cox's Bazar Marathon.

The Standard Chartered trade cricket team lifting the tournament trophy
SC Trade Cricket

Runners up

I'm one of the few women on the floor's side.