London, May 18, 2026, 13:10 BST
- Standard Chartered shares rose about 0.3% in London, broadly in line with a firmer FTSE 100. Bloomberg
- The bank named Manus Costello permanent chief financial officer and appointed Tanuj Kapilashrami group chief operating officer. Standard Chartered Bank
- Investors next face a Hong Kong strategy event on Tuesday, where management is due to set out growth plans and a medium-term financial framework. Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered shares edged higher on Monday after the Asia-focused bank named Manus Costello as permanent chief financial officer, a modest market reaction to a management fix announced one day before a closely watched investor event.
Delayed Bloomberg data showed the London-listed stock up 0.34% at 1,895 pence by early afternoon trading, while the FTSE 100 rose about 0.5%. Bloomberg
The timing matters. Standard Chartered has told investors it will use Tuesday’s event in Hong Kong to discuss strategic priorities, growth initiatives and its medium-term financial framework, the targets by which shareholders will judge whether recent profit momentum can last. Standard Chartered Bank
Costello, 50, joined the bank in April 2024 as global head of investor relations after 25 years in equity research, including senior roles at Autonomous and Merrill Lynch. He becomes interim group CFO immediately and is expected to join the board as an executive director, subject to regulatory approval. Standard Chartered Bank
The appointment follows the February resignation of Diego De Giorgi, who left after nearly three years at the bank to join Apollo Global Management as head of EMEA. Reuters reported the move came ahead of what the market expects to be a new set of growth plans after cost cuts and divestitures. Reuters
Chief Executive Bill Winters said Costello had brought “strong rigour” to the bank and would help it move into its “next phase of growth”. Costello called Standard Chartered a “compelling franchise” with cross-border capabilities valued by clients. Standard Chartered Bank
Peer moves were mixed, suggesting the share rise was not just a broad bank-sector move. HSBC was up 0.5%, while Barclays slipped 0.4%, according to Bloomberg data. Bloomberg
The new finance chief inherits a stronger profit base, but not a simple one. Standard Chartered reported a better-than-expected 17% rise in first-quarter pretax profit to $2.45 billion last month, helped by Gulf bond issuance and wealth demand, while booking a $190 million charge tied to expected losses from the Iran war. Reuters
Wealth income rose 32% in the quarter and global banking income climbed 19%, Reuters reported. Those are the numbers investors will want management to defend on Tuesday — especially if market volatility fades or Gulf fundraising slows. Reuters
Standard Chartered also said on Monday that its non-binding offer to acquire Zodia Custody’s custody business had been accepted, subject to regulatory approvals and normal closing conditions. Digital asset custody means safeguarding crypto or tokenised assets for institutional clients. Margaret Harwood-Jones, the bank’s global head of financing and securities services, said the deal would “accelerate the growth” of its digital assets custody portfolio. Standard Chartered Bank
But the downside case is still live. A longer Middle East conflict could keep credit costs elevated, regulatory approvals may slow both the CFO board appointment and the Zodia deal, and investors could punish the stock if Tuesday’s targets look light after a strong first quarter.
Risk-weighted assets, a measure banks use to size loans and trading positions by risk, are another watch point. On the first-quarter call, interim CFO Peter Burrill said potential RWA effects from sovereign-risk downgrades looked “manageable, not material” and within guidance, though that comfort depends on how the conflict and oil-price shock develop. Standard Chartered Bank
For now, the market has treated the CFO appointment as orderly succession rather than a reset. The harder test comes Tuesday, when Winters and his new finance chief have to show how much of Standard Chartered’s recent momentum can be turned into repeatable returns.
