Standard Chartered (LON:STAB) used its full-year 2025 results call to emphasize strong profit growth, record income and higher shareholder returns, while outlining a shift in how it will present its financial reporting going forward. Management also provided early guidance for 2026, flagging a flatter net interest income backdrop but continued momentum in its non-interest income “growth engines.”
2025 results: record income and higher returns
Management described 2025 as an “extraordinary year” shaped by geopolitical tensions, tariff announcements and market volatility, but said the bank delivered strong outcomes. The group reported record annual income of $20.9 billion, up 8% year-on-year on an underlying basis excluding notable items (or up 6% including them, using constant currency comparisons as discussed on the call).
Business drivers: Wealth, Markets, and Banking
Leadership highlighted broad-based growth across the group’s targeted businesses. Burrill said 2025 performance was “primarily attributable” to Wealth Solutions, Global Markets and Global Banking, while CEO Bill Winters pointed to strong client activity supporting trade and capital flows.
- CIB income was $12.4 billion, up 4%. Within that, Global Banking rose 15% on origination and distribution strength, while Transaction Services fell 7% due to lower rates.
- Global Markets income increased 12% for the year, with management noting consistent growth in flow income “above our long-term trajectory.” However, episodic income was a “small negative” in Q4 and down significantly from the prior year, which management tied to timing of large client deals and market moves that affected inventory held for client activity.
- WRB income was $8.5 billion, up 6%, driven by Wealth Solutions income growth of 24%.
In wealth, the bank reported record net new money of $52 billion in 2025, including $10 billion in Q4. Management said this represented 14% growth in affluent AUM, alongside onboarding 275,000 new-to-bank affluent clients and “up-tiering” over 300,000 individual clients. During Q&A, Investor Relations head Manus Costello added that the bank delivered 72,000 new affluent clients in Q4 and said momentum continued into early 2026. Winters described wealth flows early in 2026 as “broad-based,” with continued migration from deposits into wealth products.
Net interest income and 2026 outlook
Net interest income (NII) for 2025 was $11.2 billion, up 1%. Burrill said the year included a negative impact from rates and Wealth & Retail Banking portfolio actions, offset by volume growth and mix improvement. Q4 NII was slightly higher than expected and about $200 million higher quarter-on-quarter, which management attributed mainly to moves in HIBOR and related pass-through and timing effects; they said that uplift reversed in Q1 2026.
For 2026, management guided that NII should be broadly flat year-on-year. Drivers cited included normalization of pass-through rates after outperforming in 2025, a 44 basis point reduction in the currency-weighted average rate outlook, and an expected ~2% headwind to NII from WRB portfolio actions, with volume growth expected to mitigate part of the impact.
On the top line, Burrill said the bank expects 2026 income growth around the bottom end of its historical 5%–7% range at constant currency, and provided a target of statutory RoTE greater than 12% in 2026. Costello stressed in Q&A that management expects growth to be broad-based across Wealth, Markets and Banking, rather than dependent on a single hidden driver.
Costs, capital, and shareholder distributions
Costs rose in 2025 as the bank continued investing while pursuing savings through its “Fit for Growth” (FFG) program. Burrill said full-year operating expenses were up 4%, partly offset by FFG savings, and the bank delivered 4% positive income-to-cost jaws (excluding notable items). The underlying cost-income ratio improved 80 basis points to 59%.
FFG included more than 300 initiatives aimed at simplification, standardization and digitization. Management said it has spent close to $700 million in cost-to-achieve and achieved over $700 million in run-rate savings to date. However, the bank revised its expectations for the program: it now expects total FFG savings and total cost-to-achieve to be around $1.3 billion, rather than the initial $1.5 billion, and reiterated it intends to finish the program in 2026. Leadership also cited new investment opportunities, including data infrastructure and AI enablement, as part of its spending plans.
On capital returns, the bank announced a new $1.5 billion share buyback that it said would start imminently, and proposed a full-year dividend per share up 65% year-on-year. The CET1 ratio ended 2025 at 14.1%, with the buyback taking the pro forma ratio to 13.5%. Burrill said total shareholder distributions announced since the beginning of 2024 reached $9.1 billion, exceeding the bank’s prior three-year target of at least $8 billion.
Reporting changes, credit trends, and ventures
Management said it will shift from an “underlying” presentation to a reported basis going forward, moving certain items previously “below the line” above the line. The bank also said it will report digital banks within WRB and move SC Ventures into “Central and Other,” while continuing to call out material gains and disposals.
Credit impairment charges for 2025 were $676 million, with an overall loan loss rate of 19 basis points, broadly flat year-on-year. Burrill said the bank expects credit costs to “normalize” toward 30–35 basis points through the cycle over time, while noting asset quality remained resilient and management was not seeing “significant signs of new stress.”
On ventures, Winters said unrealized gains—particularly from stakes in Ripple and Toss—contributed around 70 basis points to underlying RoTE in 2025, while noting these gains are not included in statutory RoTE. Management also pointed to progress at its digital banks, with Mox reaching around 750,000 customers (up 15% year-on-year) and Trust Bank exceeding 1 million customers (also up 15% year-on-year), with Trust Bank’s share of Singapore’s adult population “beyond 20%.”
About Standard Chartered (LON:STAB)
Standard Chartered PLC is an international banking company. The Banks’s segments include Corporate & Institutional Banking, Retail Banking, Commercial Banking and Private Banking. Its Corporate & Institutional Banking segment allows companies and financial institutions to operate and trade globally, and its Private Banking segment supports high net worth individuals with their banking needs across borders and offers access to global investment opportunities. Its Retail Banking segment offers clients, as well as small businesses a range of banking support solutions, and its Commercial Banking segment provides mid-sized companies with financial solutions and services.
