StanChart profit climbs but misses estimates, US$1.5 billion buyback launched
Published Tue, Feb 24, 2026 · 01:15 PM
[HONG KONG] Standard Chartered (StanChart) reported on Tuesday (Feb 24) that full-year pretax profit rose 16 per cent on robust performances from its global banking and wealth businesses, although the result fell somewhat short of analysts’ estimates.
The emerging markets-focused lender announced a US$1.5 billion share buyback that it said would start imminently, and also noted that its full-year dividend was up 65 per cent from a year earlier.
“We are seeing robust growth in our larger markets, and structural shifts in global trade and investment play to our distinctive strengths serving our clients’ cross-border and affluent banking needs,” chief executive Bill Winters said.
StanChart, which earns most of its revenue in Asia and Africa, reported pretax profit for the full year of US$7 billion, missing the US$7.2 billion average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by the bank.
Succession plans at the bank are in the spotlight following the recent abrupt departure of former chief financial officer Diego De Giorgi, who left to join asset manager Apollo Global Management after less than three years in the role.
He was widely regarded by investors and analysts as the leading internal candidate to succeed Winters, 64, who has been in the role for a decade and is now the longest-serving CEO for a major British lender.
De Giorgi’s exit removes one of the key architects of the lender’s “Fit for Growth” cost-cutting programme, which is due for a critical review in May. REUTERS
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