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chart18 \u00a9Shutterstock <\/p>\n chart18 \u00a9Shutterstock <\/p>\n
Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN) reported record first-quarter earnings on Thursday, driven by strong performance in its wealth management and investment banking businesses, even as it increased provisions to account for geopolitical risks.<\/p>\n
The Standard Chartered posted operating income of $5.9 billion for the three months to March, representing a 9% increase year over year on a constant currency basis.<\/p>\n
Profit growth led by wealth and fee-based businesses <\/p>\n
Profit before tax rose 17% to $2.45 billion, while net profit attributable to shareholders increased 19% to $1.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Growth was primarily driven by the Wealth Solutions division, where income surged 32% amid strong demand for investment products and bancassurance offerings. Global Banking income also increased 19%, supported by higher deal activity and strength in capital markets.<\/p>\n
Net interest income edged up 1% to $2.9 billion, while non-interest income climbed 16%, reflecting the bank\u2019s continued shift toward fee-generating business lines.<\/p>\n
Higher provisions reflect geopolitical uncertainty <\/p>\n
Credit impairment charges rose to $296 million, an increase of $79 million compared to the same period last year. The bank attributed the rise mainly to precautionary provisions linked to tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
CEO Bill Winters said the group\u2019s \u201cadvantaged market presence\u201d and disciplined approach to risk management helped underpin performance despite global uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Capital strength and outlook remain stable <\/p>\n
Return on tangible equity improved to 17.4%, up from 14.8% a year earlier, while the CET1 capital ratio stood at 13.4%.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Standard Chartered left its 2026 guidance unchanged, expecting operating income growth at the lower end of its 5% to 7% target range on a constant currency basis. Net interest income is projected to remain broadly stable.<\/p>\n
The bank also expects to keep costs largely flat, including the final phase of its \u201cFit for Growth\u201d programme, while maintaining a target return on tangible equity above 12%.<\/p>\n
More about Standard Chartered <\/p>\n
Standard Chartered is a global banking group with a strong presence across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The bank provides a wide range of financial services, including corporate and investment banking, wealth management, and retail banking, with a focus on emerging markets and international trade flows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"chart18 \u00a9Shutterstock Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN) reported record first-quarter earnings on Thursday, driven by strong performance in its wealth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21387],"tags":[22916,22914,22915,21536,22913,12859,22912,20677,12931],"class_list":["post-45391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-standard-chartered","tag-currency-basis","tag-global-banking","tag-interest-income","tag-investment-banking","tag-investment-products","tag-net-interest-income","tag-operating-income","tag-standard-chartered","tag-wealth-management"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116617221498059270","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}