Standard Chartered Wealth Income Accelerates as Retail Profit Rises
Wealth Solutions income climbed 38% to a record $2.11 billion in the half.
Standard Chartered (STAN), the emerging-markets-focused lender, reported a 61% increase in Wealth and Retail Banking profit before tax to $1.99 billion in the first half. The segment’s income rose 15%, while impairments declined as portfolio de-risking partly offset new credit overlays.
Wealth Solutions supplied much of that momentum. Income increased 38% to a record $2.11 billion, accelerating from 24% growth a year earlier, as Investment Products revenue rose 46% and Bancassurance gained 15%.
Adjusted net interest income rose 4% to $5.74 billion as higher volumes and a more favorable balance-sheet mix outweighed lower interest rates. Adjusted net interest margin narrowed 1 bp to 2.04%. Asset yields fell 48 bps, while the rate paid on liabilities declined 54 bps amid disciplined pricing and an improved funding mix.
Corporate and Investment Banking produced a more mixed result. Global Banking income rose 19% to $1.31 billion, and Capital Markets and Advisory revenue increased 54% on bond issuance fees and merger activity. Global Markets income declined 2% as softer episodic revenue outweighed 17% growth in flow income. The division’s profit before tax fell 2% to $3.24 billion as expenses and credit charges absorbed the gains from banking and transaction services.
Expense growth remained below income growth. Adjusted operating expenses increased 1% to $6.34 billion, helped by a $74 million release tied to Korea equity-linked securities, while the cost-to-income ratio improved 270 bps to 54.6%.
The common-equity tier 1 ratio stood at 14.2%, up 3 bps on the comparable basis. Standard Chartered announced a new $1.0 billion buyback after completing $1.5 billion of repurchases during the half, while the interim dividend increased 66% to 20.4 cents a share.
Credit costs moved higher. The impairment charge rose 33% to $446 million, lifting the annualized loan-loss rate by 7 bps to 26 bps; the total included a $234 million management overlay for Middle East exposures. Corporate and Investment Banking recorded a $150 million charge after a $14 million release a year earlier, while the Wealth and Retail Banking charge declined to $296 million.
Customer loans rose 4% to $299.3 billion and deposits increased 4% to $552.6 billion, leaving the advances-to-deposits ratio at 50.9%. Affluent net new money reached a record $33 billion, up from $28 billion a year earlier, reinforcing wealth as the principal source of first-half growth.
*Source: Standard Chartered H1 2026 and H1 2025 results releases.*