LONDON, July 1, 2026, 21:02 BST
- Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) ended the session 1.62% higher at 2,074p, while the FTSE 100 slipped 0.18%.
- Shares are still down 8.96% from the 52-week high of 2,278p on June 24.
- Standard Chartered said it made its first live digital-asset prime-brokerage trades, working with LMAX Group.
- Standard Chartered Bank will report half-year results on July 29.
Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) outperformed London’s main index on Wednesday, ending up 1.62% at 2,074p. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.18% to 10,478.34. The bank edged out the benchmark by 1.80 percentage points for the day, though shares closed 8.96% under June’s 52-week high of 2,278p.
| London close, July 1 | Standard Chartered | FTSE 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Level | 2,074p | 10,478.34 |
| Day move | up 1.62% | down 0.18% |
| One-day spread to index | beat by 1.80 pct pts | — |
| Gap to June 24 high | off 8.96% | — |
Product mix stood out this time. Standard Chartered said it did prime-broker spot bitcoin and ether trades with LMAX Group, settling T+1 using its UK branch and its DIFC digital-asset custody setup. The bank called itself one of the first globally systemically important lenders to pull off these trades.
Alison Higgins, head of Prime Services at Standard Chartered, said the pilot is part of a platform covering “custody, trading and prime brokerage.” LMAX Group CEO David Mercer called the absence of large balance-sheet credit counterparties a “critical missing mechanism” for digital assets. Standard Chartered Bank
What matters for the stock is that Standard Chartered’s outlook for 2026 is now driven more by fee income, wealth flows and capital-light market activities than just loan growth. For the first quarter, non-interest income jumped 16% to $3.0 billion. Net interest income was up 1% to $2.9 billion. Income from Wealth Solutions climbed 32%, while Global Banking income gained 19%.
| Investor test | Latest confirmed data |
|---|---|
| Fee mix | Q1 non-interest income rose 16% to $3.0 bln; net interest income gained 1% to $2.9 bln |
| Wealth engine | Wealth Solutions income came in at $1.043 bln, up 32%; affluent net new money $18 bln; gained 73,000 new affluent clients |
| Returns | Q1 RoTE at 17.4%; May target set at above 15% in 2028, about 18% by 2030 |
| Capital | CET1 ratio stands at 13.4%; target range is 13%-14% |
| Next check | Half-year results slated for July 29 |
Standard Chartered’s investor day in May laid out new targets. The bank is aiming for 5%-7% compound annual income growth between 2025 and 2028, high-teens EPS growth, and a cost-to-income ratio around 57% by 2028. Management is also targeting $200 billion in net new money in Wealth & Retail Banking by 2028.
The last two days brought news that lines up with that push, but nothing that changes the earnings picture. Reuters said Tuesday Standard Chartered named Margaret Harwood-Jones as CEO for Europe and the UK, a role the bank just created. The bank is pushing to grow cross-border corporate, FI business and wealth revenue. Harwood-Jones called Europe and the UK “core to our global strategy.” Reuters
Uganda signed a €110.5 million ($126.1 million) road finance deal with its local Standard Chartered operation on Wednesday, Reuters said. The money will go to a 115.8-km project in Karamoja. While small compared to the bank’s group assets, this is the type of emerging-market lending that keeps Standard Chartered in government and trade corridor business.
The risk is still there. On Tuesday, South Africa’s Constitutional Court cleared the way for competition regulators to keep going with a years-long rand-rigging case involving six banks. Reuters reported that Standard Chartered settled or got leniency, admitted wrong-doing, and paid over 42 million rand last year.
The July 29 half-year update is the next big test. The focus: can the bank convert gains in wealth, prime, Europe clients and emerging-markets financing into higher revenue, keeping credit costs in the 30-35 basis-point range it set out at its May investor event.
