A former senior banker at the UK-listed lender has been charged in Hong Kong with bribery and the case has been deferred to next month, according to reports.

Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption pressed the charges against Ryan Gwee Yuan-kerr, accusing him of accepting a bribe of HK$150,000 (US$19,000) on 11 August 2011.

ICAC reportedly said that Yuan-kerr accepted money from a chairman-cum-major shareholder of an insurance company as a reward for handling his bank account and the bank accounts of companies that the chairman controlled.

At the period when the offence allegedly occurred, the banker oversaw the sales team at the private banking division of Standard Chartered Hong Kong. ICAC reportedly said that the case originated from a complaint about corruption.

Reports said Yuan-kerr has been released on bail; no plea was entered and the case has been deferred to February, media reports added.