About

Brenda Aluoch is the head of legal for transaction banking in Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). In this role, she oversees the product legal coverage for all client segments in Africa and Middle East for transaction banking. Since joining SCB in 2013 as the first dedicated transaction banking lawyer for the Africa region, Brenda’s role has expanded from covering East Africa to the entire Africa region in 2014 and further to the Middle East and North Africa in 2018. Her duties include cross-border legal work, deal structuring, document drafting and negotiation, liaising with external counsel, transaction execution, legal research and analysis and advising on the appropriateness, validity and enforceability of various transactions. 

Brenda’s responsibilities involve regular interaction with colleagues, legal counsel and business stakeholders in various African and Middle Eastern countries in which SCB is present, and she is deeply involved in bank-wide project innovations. In 2023, SCB presented her with a “Certificate of Appreciation” in recognition of her expertise in crafting a complex legal agreement for a critical infrastructure project. Another notable award was in 2014, where jointly with a colleague in the compliance function, Brenda was presented with the “Legal and Compliance Balanced Scales Awards – Here for good Award”. This award recognised her legal expertise, proactiveness and innovative spirit. 

Before joining SCB, Brenda’s career took her to Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, where she quickly adapted to new environments and operated sensitively in multicultural settings. Her career began in the commercial and conveyancing department of Walker Kontos Advocates in Kenya. She then joined the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya in 1999 as a legal and enforcement officer, followed by African Alliance Kenya Investment Bank in 2002, where she led the successful registration of the first unit trusts in Kenya. In 2003, Brenda worked as a financial services lawyer at the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Cote d’Ivoire and later in Tunisia. Following her consultancy at AfDB, she joined Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited in 2005 as head of legal and compliance and company secretary. She directed and guided a team of legal and compliance assistants and one anti-money laundering control officer. In 2006, she received the “Star Award” as one of the four top managers in Kenya. She was promoted to regional legal manager for Stanbic Bank’s East Africa investment banking unit in 2007. 

In 2008, AfDB offered her a position in their legal services department, where she worked in the finance division and later transferred to the public sector operations division before joining Standard Chartered Bank in 2013. Brenda holds a law degree from the University of Warwick and a Master’s in Commercial and Corporate Law from Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. She was admitted to the Kenyan bar and became a member of the Law Society of Kenya in 1998. In 2002, she was admitted to the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya. 

Her interests include running, hiking, photography, mentoring the youth and working with charitable programs that advance early childhood education. She also enjoys spending most of her free time with her 4-year-old twins.