Standard Chartered profit rises 19% with record gains in wealth management

Standard Chartered, one of Hong Kong’s three note-issuing banks, said earnings increased 19 per cent last year as the banking group benefited from robust growth in its wealth management business.

Net profit rose to US$4.28 billion, or US$1.41 per share from US$3.58 billion in 2023, the bank said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Friday, topping the US$4.23 billion consensus forecast among analysts tracked by Bloomberg. It proposed a 28 US cents final dividend, bringing the total for 2024 to 37 US cents.

The bank said it would set aside US$1.5 billion to buy back its own shares in the coming year, an increase from US$1 billion a year earlier.

The bank’s shares declined 2 per cent to HK$108.90 at noon local time, before the report card, bucking a bullish market in Hong Kong as the Hang Seng Index surged 2.9 per cent.

The London-based bank, which generates much of its revenue from Asia, reported an 18 per cent increase in statutory pre-tax profit to US$6 billion for 2024, trailing market estimates of US$6.2 billion.