Standard Chartered is pulling out of institutional equities globally in an abrupt move that underscores the bank’s efforts to cut costs and refocus its business, and is also axing another 2,000 jobs in its retail division.
The UK lender said it would close its institutional cash equities and equity research businesses, and cease offering capital markets services such as initial public offerings, shedding around 200 jobs.
The decision comes as investors have stepped up the pressure on the emerging markets-centred bank. StanChart’s UK-listed shares have fallen a quarter in the past year as investors worried that it had lost its way under Peter Sands, its embattled chief executive.