Standard Chartered to cut 15,000 jobs after Q3 loss

CEO Bill Winters plans to raise $5.1 bn by selling new shares as well as restructure or exit $100 billion of assets

Standard Chartered Plc will continue to reduce its “over-concentration” on commodity-related business in India and China, group chief executive Bill Winters said on Tuesday.

“We have made substantial progress in reducing our over-concentration to commodity related clients, both of the trading variety and the mineral and oil extraction variety. We will continue on focusing on those reductions,” Winters said in a conference call announcing the bank’s plans to drastically restructure its businesses.

The international bank is planning to restructure $100 billion worth of assets and businesses globally, which represents about one third of its risk weighted assets worth $320 billion, Winters said.

Of this, about $20 billion worth of assets, where the return on equity is negative, will be liquidated, according to the bank’s plan.

Standard Chartered has been reorganizing its businesses over this year, trying to wind down its less profitable ventures.

Earlier in October, the bank had announced that it would be shutting its equity derivatives and convertible bonds unit. In January too, the London-based bank had said that it will shut down its institutional cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets operations, globally.

The bank will be cutting 15,000 jobs under the reorganization plan, Winters said. The headcount reduction will be focused in areas where the attrition rate is already high, to ensure that the bank’s other employees are not disrupted by it, he added.