Our share price is substandard, admits Standard Chartered boss

STANDARD Chartered’s chief executive has admitted that the bank’s share price is “c--p” as he unveiled a major overhaul designed to simplify the sprawling lender.

The bank announced a $1bn (£789m) share buyback and a new $1.5bn costcutting plan to tempt investors who have shunned the Asian-focused lender.

Shares are down by a third since Bill Winters took over in 2015, putting pressure on the former JP Morgan executive to fix the issue.

He said: “You might be thinking [the stock price is c---p] and you’d be right, the stock price is c--p – [but] we’re completely focused on addressing the shareholder concerns. We are completely optimistic about our ability to continue to deliver on this plan.”

Standard Chartered is listed in London but offers consumer and commercial banking in the likes of China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Despite having no branches in the UK, it has sponsored Liverpool FC since 2010.

The cost-cutting plan is likely to lead to a reduction in roles as more back office roles are automated but it is hoped job cuts will be limited. Standard Chartered is hoping to streamline its structure, which Mr Winters said shareholders had often found “too complex” and had weighed on shares.

He said: “The share price that we’re experiencing today is not consistent with any of the historical measures of return on tangible equity, especially for a bank that’s evidenced extraordinarily strong capital discipline. We’re not happy at all about where our shares are trading.”

The bank’s spending bill was once equal to its income, meaning it made no profit. That has led to a perception that costs have remained too high.

The FTSE 100 bank took a small $153m hit on its stake in China Bohai Bank, a specialist lender based in the port city of Tianjin. It also booked a $282m charge from problems in Chinese commercial real estate amid a wider downturn in the country.

Mr Winters said he was not “bullish or bearish” on China because the country was going through a transition from older industries like property to tech and consumer.

Pre-tax profits for the final three months ending December 2023 rose to $1.1bn. The full year profit was up 19pc to $5.1bn.

Shares in the company rose 6pc.