Standard Chartered chief: I'm not going anywhere

The under-fire chief executive of Standard Chartered has committed to staying at the bank through a round of job losses and branch closures intended to improve profits.

Peter Sands said the bank would cut $400m in costs next year and that shareholders would see “tangible progress” after two years of falling profits.

Standard Chartered’s share price has fallen by 30pc this year amid three profit warnings in the past 12 months, and the chief executive’s three-day investor trip in Asia this week comes at the most difficult period in his eight years in charge of the bank.

Shareholders have privately questioned the future of senior management, but Mr Sands said his position and that of chairman John Peace “was not a focus of discussion” during meetings.

“I am committed to being at the bank and executing the operation,” he said. “I’ve come out of these last few days thinking we’ve had very good discussions with shareholders.”

Slowing growth in Asia, where Standard Chartered makes most of its profits, has dragged on the company in recent months, but Mr Sands said this did not merit any change in direction.

“Growth at 7pc is something the UK or US is not going to see in a long time, they [emerging markets] are going through some adjustments, creating some strains and difficulties for us, but they are still hugely attractive markets,” he said.

A slump in commodity prices has hit many of the businesses Standard Chartered finances, and last month, an increase in losses from bad loans forced the bank to drop a target of returning to profit growth in the second half of the year.

Annual profits will fall for the second time in a row this year after a decade of unbroken growth, raising pressure on management.

Andy Halford, the bank’s chief financial officer, said loan impairments will continue at the higher rate seen in the third quarter of the year.

Investors have worried that the bank may have to raise money to deal with new capital requirements, but Mr Sands dismissed this on Thursday.

“We made very clear we have a strong capital position,” he said.

The bank is looking to sell certain consumer finance businesses and attract more wealthy private banking customers.

Mr Sands declined to say how many jobs the company would be cutting, or elaborate on recent reports that US authorities have re-opened investigations into the bank’s dealings with sanctioned clients in Iran.

The bank’s costs related to legal and regulatory compliance have risen by 50pc in the past year alone, he said.

The investor presentation failed to impress Chirantan Barua, an analyst at Bernstein, however.

Mr Barua downgraded income forecasts for the next few years by 10pc, after determining that management "will do everything possible to prevent a rights issue" and thus will likely shrink loans as a result.