Our share price is “crap,” admits the head of Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered chief Bill Winters has launched a share buyback and a new $1.5 billion cost-cutting plan to entice investors. Photo: Holly Adams/Bloomberg

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters admitted the bank's share price is «crap» as he announced an overhaul to streamline the sprawling lender system.

The bank announced a $1bn (£789m) share buyback and a new $1.5bn cost-cutting plan to entice investors shunning the Asia-focused lender.

Shares fell by a third since Mr. Winters took office. in 2015, pressuring a former JP Morgan executive to fix the problem.

He said, “You might think [the stock price is crap], and you'd be right, the stock price is crap.” [but] we are completely focused on solving shareholder problems. We are absolutely optimistic about our ability to continue to deliver on this plan.»

Standard Chartered is registered in London, but offers consumer and commercial banking services in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Despite the lack of branches in the UK, the company has been sponsoring the Liverpool Football Club since 2010.

The cost-cutting plan will likely lead to job cuts as more back-office functions are automated, but it is hoped job cuts will be limited.

Standard Chartered hopes to streamline its structure, Mr. — on Winters, shareholders often found it «too complex» and put pressure on the stock.

He said: «The share price we see today does not match any of the historical returns on equity, especially for a bank , who has demonstrated extremely strong capital discipline.»

“We are not at all happy with where our shares are trading.”

The bank's expense account was once equal to its income, meaning it made no profit. This has led to the view that costs remain too high.

The FTSE 100 bank took a small hit of $153 million to its stake in China Bohai Bank, a specialist lender based in the port city of Tianjin. The company also received a $282 million settlement for commercial real estate problems in China amid the country's broader downturn.

The commercial real estate crisis has hit China's economy hard, cutting its traditionally strong growth by about 2%, which has slowed. to 5.2% last year.

Winters said he is neither bullish nor bearish on China as the country is in the process of transitioning from legacy industries such as real estate to technology and consumer goods sector.

The risk of another trade war between the US and China if President Trump is re-elected also appears to be less of a risk than some had feared due to President Biden's similar approach.

“I don't think so that such a risk exists. Trump's looming presence,” he said. “I think there are political tensions between the US and China.

“This was started in earnest by Trump, but Biden has not reversed anything and expanded it a little.”

tax income for the last three months , ending December 2023, rose to $1.1 billion. Profit for the full year rose 19% to $5.1 billion.