Company Reports

Standard Chartered’s strategy has shifted toward improving returns through greater focus, capital discipline, and portfolio optimization. The group has scaled down lower-return businesses and markets, while reallocating resources toward its core footprint across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, where it has established corporate relationships and trade corridor exposure. Going forward, we also expect Standard Chartered to increase investment on fee-generative and capital-light businesses.

Standard Chartered's, or StanChart's, second-quarter operating income rose 8% year on year, excluding last year's one-off disposal gain, as loan growth offset lower interest rates, and wealth and global banking drove strong noninterest income. Pretax profit grew only 2% due to higher credit costs.

Standard Chartered’s strategy has shifted toward improving returns through greater focus, capital discipline, and portfolio optimization. The group has scaled down lower-return businesses and markets while reallocating resources toward its core footprint across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, where it has established corporate relationships and trade corridor exposure. Going forward, we also expect Standard Chartered to increase investment on fee-generative and capital-light businesses.

During their investor days on May 19-21, HSBC and Standard Chartered outlined medium-term strategies. Key themes include capturing Asian wealth growth, leveraging cross-border network connectivity, and driving efficiency through technology.

Standard Chartered's first-quarter return on tangible equity of 17% improved from 15% a year ago. Net profit grew 24% to USD 1.7 billion, driven by growth in noninterest income from the wealth solutions business.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered's 2025 statutory return on tangible equity improved to 12%, supported by robust noninterest income growth. As such, the full-year dividend per share jumped 65% to USD 0.61, and share buybacks will rise to USD 1.5 billion.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered's Group Chief Financial Officer, Diego De Giorgi, will be leaving the bank. The group appointed Deputy Group CFO, Peter Burrill, to serve as group CFO on an interim basis. StanChart's share price fell as much as 6.4% in Hong Kong trade, but has recovered most of the loss.

Standard Chartered's third-quarter operating income was up 5% year on year, driven by strong wealth solutions and global banking revenue, despite softer net interest income. The bank now expects to reach its 13% return on tangible equity target in 2025, ahead of the originally guided 2026.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered reported annualized second-quarter return on tangible equity of 16.4% (18.1% on an underlying basis) and raised its revenue guidance for 2025.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered's first-quarter annualized return on tangible equity rose to 14.8%, up from 13.5% a year ago and 9.7% for all of 2024.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

We adjust our Morningstar Uncertainty Ratings for 14 of the 16 Asia, excluding China, stocks we cover after US President Donald Trump announced much more severe tariffs on imports than we or the market were expecting, raising uncertainty over future economic conditions across Asia.

Standard Chartered's strategic adjustments over the past decade have been focused on addressing deep challenges that emerged in the first half of the 2010s. Under CEO Bill Winters, efforts to overhaul risk management, culture, and cost structures helped stabilize the bank after a period of significant underperformance. While these moves allowed the bank to regain profitability, the road to recovery was slow and marked by restructuring costs and write-offs. Over time, the bank has streamlined its operations, cutting back on markets and products where it couldn’t achieve competitive scale, positioning itself for more durable profitability.

Standard Chartered's fourth-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, driven by a 17-basis-point quarter-on-quarter increase in net interest margin, despite a 30-basis-point decline in the bank's currency-weighted average interest rate.