26th Oct 2015 06:25
LONDON (Alliance News) - British lender Standard Chartered PLC plans to exit its equity derivatives and convertible bonds businesses, according to media reports on Sunday. The impact of the move will likely be felt in Hong Kong, as the business has mainly been run from there.
The move is part of the Asia-focused lender's efforts to cut costs and use capital more efficiently, under its new chief executive Bill Winters. In January, the bank said it will close its international cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets.
Standard Chartered is also planning to eliminate around 1,000 of its senior staff, according to media reports in early October. About a quarter of its 4,000 top managers would be notified by the end of November if they were affected by the cuts, which are already said to be underway.
In July, Standard Chartered announced a new management team to be led by Winters. The Management Team will deliver a plan to address the future performance of the Group by the year end.
Prior to the plan being implemented, the Group will simplify its geographic and client segment structure to reduce costs and bureaucracy and speed up decision making with a rationalized geographic structure, comprising four regional businesses and a simplified client-facing structure, comprising three client businesses.
Standard Chartered, in early August, reported a decline in profit for the first half of the year, with lower net interest income. Citing the weak earnings performance and lower earnings expectations, the company trimmed its dividend.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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