Standard Chartered's private banking arm is shifting more of its clients' funds to cash on fears there is further turmoil ahead.

The bank said it was very worried about financial markets, and has reduced its clients' equities exposure to 40% from 50% last year, increasing cash holdings instead.

Peter Flavel, global head of the Singapore-based private bank, warned of slower asset growth this year, saying: "We are in very volatile times. Nobody knows how long this stuff in the States is going to continue, and a quarter of the world's consumption comes from the US.

"If you ask me what the most likely scenario is, it is that asset growth will be modest."

Flavel added that was after asset growth of about 20% last year. Standard Chartered launched its global private banking in the middle of last year, and now managemore than £20 billion of client assets.

It competes with HSBC, UBS and Citigroup in the Asian private-banking market, where clients have assets of more than $8.4 trillion (£4.27 trillion).