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Enoch Yiu

Standard Chartered shares rose 3.9 per cent to HK$231.40 on Wednesday after the bank announced strong first-half results and a US$1 billion share buy-back programme.
The London-headquartered lender reported a 10 per cent rise in its first-half profit as strong wealth management gains were offset by an impairment charge tied to the Middle East conflict. The US$1 billion share buy-back will start immediately, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.
Net profit climbed 10 per cent in the first six months of 2026 to a record US$3.37 billion, or 151.6 US cents per share, from US$3.07 billion a year earlier. The result was better than the analysts’ estimate of US$3.01 billion.
Pre-tax profit increased by 9 per cent to US$4.78 billion in the first half, compared with US$4.38 billion a year earlier.
The bank announced an interim dividend of 20.4 US cents a share, up 66 per cent from a year earlier.
“Our performance demonstrates the strength of our differentiated international network and the disciplined execution of our strategy. Clients continue to turn to us to facilitate trade, investment and wealth flows across the world’s most dynamic markets,” said CEO Bill Winters in an earnings statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
“We delivered a 17 per cent increase in our earnings per share, and our upgraded income guidance and new share buy-back of US$1 billion reflected our confidence in the business.”
In May, Winters raised the bank’s 2030 profitability target to 18 per cent as it expanded its wealth, cross-border banking and digital businesses, with Hong Kong at the centre of its growth story.


He said Standard Chartered planned to adopt artificial intelligence and automation and reduce the bank’s back-office staff worldwide by 15 per cent by 2030, cutting its cost-income ratio to 57 per cent in 2028 from 63 per cent in 2025.
The bank’s shares have climbed 16 per cent this year, compared with the Hang Seng Index, which remains flat over the same period.
Standard Chartered, which generates most of its business in Hong Kong and other markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, said its wealth-management revenue rose 38 per cent to US$2.1 billion in the first half.
Assets under management for affluent clients – those with at least US$25,000 – increased to US$33 billion as of the end of June.
The bank recorded credit impairment charges of US$446 million during the first half, up 33 per cent from a year earlier, due to a precautionary management overlay of US$234 million reflecting uncertainty related to the Middle East conflict.
Manus Costello, the bank’s group chief financial officer, said most the overlays were made in the first quarter for the petrochemical sector and potential sovereign downgrades.
“It is important to stress that the underlying asset quality remains very robust,” Costello said in a results briefing. “But given the macro uncertainty, we thought it was prudent to take slightly higher overlays there. We are very positive on the longer-term outlook for the region, and will continue to invest in that area.”
Standard Chartered’s Middle East operations cover Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE was the bank’s sixth-largest contributor to pre-tax profit in the first half, generating US$277 million or about 6 per cent of the total.
The lender’s Hong Kong unit reported a pre-tax profit of US$1.61 billion in the first half, representing 34 per cent of the total, as Hong Kong remained the bank’s largest single market.
Costello said the bank remained positive about the growth outlook in Hong Kong, where it continued to invest. He did not see a big impact from the mainland regulator’s tightened control over cross-border investments since May, as the bank still experienced strong growth in its wealth management business in the second quarter.
Net interest income in the first half rose 4 per cent to US$5.74 billion from a year earlier. The bank’s net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, narrowed by 1 basis point year on year to 2.04 per cent.


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Share price surges on 38 per cent rise in wealth-management revenue, even as Middle East tensions and bad debt temper profit growth


Share price surges on 38 per cent rise in wealth-management revenue, even as Middle East tensions and bad debt temper profit growth.


Standard Chartered posts 10% rise in first-half profit, launches US$1b buy-back

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Share price surges on 38 per cent rise in wealth-management revenue, even as Middle East tensions and bad debt temper profit growth

Share price surges on 38 per cent rise in wealth-management revenue, even as Middle East tensions and bad debt temper profit growth