How Standard Chartered Plans to Boost Profitability with AI, Job Cuts, and Higher-Return Businesses

Standard Chartered is entering a new phase of its long‑running restructuring with a clear objective: deliver significantly higher profitability while running a leaner, more technology‑driven bank. The lender is targeting a return on tangible equity (RoTE) above 15% by 2028 and roughly 18% by 2030, supported by cost reductions, automation, and a sharper focus on higher‑margin businesses.

The plan follows a period of improving financial performance and is framed as the next stage of strategic execution rather than a one‑time restructuring effort.

The profitability targets: >15% RoTE by 2028, ~18% by 2030

Return on tangible equity (RoTE) is a key measure of profitability for banks, indicating how efficiently they generate profit from shareholder capital.

Standard Chartered’s recent performance has already moved closer to its new targets:

• The bank reported underlying RoTE of 14.7% for FY2025, exceeding its earlier three‑year plan ahead of schedule.
• Operating income in 2025 rose 6% to $20.9 billion, driven by growth in wealth solutions, global banking, and global markets.

Building on this momentum, management has raised its medium‑term goals to:

• More than 15% RoTE by 2028
• Around 18% RoTE by 2030

These targets represent a step up from the bank’s earlier profitability ambitions and signal confidence that its strategy and operating model can support higher returns.

Cutting more than 15% of corporate roles

A central pillar of the strategy is improving efficiency across the organization. Standard Chartered plans to reduce corporate‑function roles by more than 15% by 2030, primarily in support and back‑office areas.

The goal is not simply cost reduction. The bank is attempting to redesign how work is done across the organization, shifting routine processes toward technology and automation.

Management says the productivity improvements should help increase income per employee by about 20% by 2028.

Automation, AI, and data analytics

Technology is expected to drive much of the productivity improvement. Standard Chartered is expanding the use of:

• Automation for routine processes
• Artificial intelligence and advanced analytics
• Data‑driven decision systems

These tools are intended to streamline internal workflows, improve risk and client decision‑making, and enhance client service while reducing manual work in support functions.

Banks globally are making similar moves, but Standard Chartered is explicitly tying these investments to measurable productivity metrics such as income per employee.

Shifting toward higher‑margin businesses

Alongside cost efficiency, the bank is focusing its growth strategy on business lines with stronger margins and structural growth.

Priority segments include:

• Affluent retail and wealth management clients
• Global banking and financial markets
• Cross‑border corporate and institutional banking

The bank’s strategy is built around its geographic footprint in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa and its role in cross‑border trade and investment flows. Executives say combining these international banking capabilities with wealth management for affluent clients provides a differentiated business model.

Strong recent results set the stage

The updated strategy comes after several years of improving financial performance.

Key milestones include:

• Underlying RoTE rose to 14.7% in 2025, exceeding targets a year early.
• Operating income reached $20.9 billion, with strong contributions from wealth solutions, global banking, and markets.
• The bank maintained a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio around 14%, indicating solid capital strength while pursuing growth and shareholder returns.

Investor materials also show that the bank achieved several goals from its previous strategic plan earlier than expected, including income growth targets and positive income‑to‑cost momentum.

Leadership and organizational changes

Leadership adjustments are also part of the execution phase. Standard Chartered has appointed Manus Costello as Group Chief Financial Officer and executive director, subject to regulatory approval, after initially serving as interim CFO.

At the same time, the bank named Tanuj Kapilashrami as Group Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overseeing strategy and transformation initiatives.

These roles are central to delivering the operational redesign and financial targets outlined in the strategy update.

The key challenge: execution

The strategy depends on successfully delivering both sides of the equation:

• Sustained revenue growth from wealth, markets, and cross‑border banking
• Meaningful cost and productivity improvements from automation and restructuring

If the bank can execute on both fronts, management believes it can lift returns to above 15% RoTE by 2028 and roughly 18% by 2030.

However, achieving those targets will also depend on broader conditions such as credit quality, global economic stability, and continued growth in the bank’s core markets.

For Standard Chartered, the next few years will test whether technology‑driven productivity and strategic focus can transform a historically lower‑return international bank into a consistently high‑return franchise.