When Bill Winters took over as chief executive of Standard Chartered five years ago, rebuilding its capital position was his first priority. That is coming in useful this year.
The Asia-focused bank made a 1,100 per cent increase in credit impairments to nearly $1bn for coronavirus. The lender still beat expectations, even as pre-tax profits dropped about 12 per cent to $1.2bn. That was a sign expectations are pretty low.
The outlook is grim. Lower GDP growth in key markets will dent net interest income further. Credit costs will rise. More capital may be needed. Return on tangible equity dropped 100 bps to 8.6 per cent. The net interest margin fell 14 bps to 1.52 per cent.