11th Nov 2014 11:32
LONDON (Alliance News) - Standard Chartered PLC will reduce the number of retail branches it had at the end of the first half of its current financial year by between 6% and 8% under previously reported plans to cut costs by about USD400 million per year, according to slides on the bank's website Tuesday.
According to the slides, Standard Chartered, which focuses on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, is looking to reduce its retail branch network by between 80 and 100 branches from the 1,248 total at the end of June. The slides also provided a breakdown of the cost-cutting measures, with USD300 million to come from its retail and corporate and institutional client segments, including products, while the remaining USD100 million will come from within support functions.
The slides were uploaded as part of Standard Chartered's annual investor trip, which is this year taking place in Hong Kong over three days beginning on Tuesday. It will detail plans to deliver returns above the cost of capital and to restore sustainable profitable growth.
The slides also show the FTSE 100-listed bank plans to grow assets under management in its wealth management by at least 10% in 2015 from the USD66 billion at the end of June, and to increase its number of commercial and private banking clients.
Standard Chartered is also targeting growth of at least 20% in client FX notional volumes in 2015. The bank reported USD2.6 trillion client FX notional volume at the end of the first half.
The bank has been hit by a number of challenges, spanning structural issues from stricter regulatory requirements on banks imposed in the years following the financial crisis, to cyclical matters such as investor sentiment towards emerging markets turning negative and low levels of volatility both hitting its financial markets business.
Chief Executive Peter Sands will be hoping to convince investors he is the right person to lead the bank back to profitable growth in the wake of a series of profit warnings and run-ins with regulators in the past year.
Standard Chartered shares were flat at 941.92 pence Tuesday morning.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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