Standard Chartered to cut around 100 jobs worldwide as bank seeks to cut costs by $1bn – reports
Standard Chartered is laying off employees across Singapore, Hong Kong and London following a series of cuts across the sector in recent months.
According to Bloomberg News, the bank could cut over 100 employees although it is yet to determine a final number.
In Asia, roles have been cut in middle-office functions, like human resources and digital transformation, in the last few weeks. A few managing directors have also been cut in London, the report said.
A spokesperson for Standard Chartered said: “It is part of normal business activity to review our role requirements on an ongoing basis across the bank, to ensure that we remain effective in delivering our business strategy and serving our clients’ needs.”
The redundancies come as the lender aims to reduce costs by more than $1bn (£802m) by 2024.
Although it is headquartered in London, Standard Chartered operates in 59 markets across the world, with a focus on Asia. Its sprawling footprint means it has a relatively high cost base.
Earlier this year it sold its Jordanian business to Arab Jordan Investment Bank. It is in the process of exiting seven markets in Africa and the Middle East.
Recently it has performed well, recording its best underlying profit since 2014 in the first quarter. It reported a 25 per cent increase in pretax profit to $1.8bn.
A range of other lenders including Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Citi have all announced their own cost-cutting measures as they grapple with falling fees.
Job cuts in 2023 have been the steepest since the financial crisis.