Standard Chartered announces fresh £410m share buyback programme on profit surge

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Higher interest rates boosted the lender’s bottom line, with pre-profits climbing eight per cent to $2.77bn in the six months to June (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Asia-focused British bank Standard Chartered today announced a fresh $500m (£410m) share buyback programme.

Higher interest rates boosted the lender’s bottom line, with pre-profits climbing eight per cent to $2.77bn (£2.3bn) in the six months to June.

In the second quarter alone, profits surged 12 per cent to $1.3bn (£1.1bn), above analysts’ expectations, sending its shares up 0.26 per cent.

Despite the better than expected results, Standard Chartered suffered a more than $230m (£189m) hit from its exposure to the ailing Chinese real estate sector.

Standard Chartered, like HSBC, Britain’s largest bank, makes most of its profits in Asia.

Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, said: “We’ve posted a strong set of results for the first half of the year.”

“We remain disciplined on expenses, with significant savings delivered and maintained a strong capital position, with a CET1 ratio of 13.9%,” he added.