SCB, Your CCB Bank ;)

[scbccb]

[h=1]Standard Chartered will keep falling, says AA-rated Norris[/h][h=2]Citywire AA-rated fund manager Barry Norris has hiked his 'short' position in the embattled emerging markets-focused bank.[/h]Citywire AA-rated fund manager Barry Norris is betting that shares in embattled emerging markets-focused bank Standard Chartered (STAN
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) will fall further.Norris has hiked his 'short' position in the bank - a bet that the share price will fall in his Argonaut Absolute Return
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fund, which aims to deliver a positive return in all market conditions.He has 'shorted' the bank for more than two years, but last week upped the position from 3.5% to 5% of the fund.
The bank has had a torrid 12 months with heavy exposure to Asia and a rising number of non-performing loans weighing heavily on its share price, which has fallen by 29%.
In its latest results, the bank reported a 36% fall in profits in the first half of the year, down from $3.3 billion (£2.1 billion) to $2.1 billion, while its return on equity halved. The bank’s new chief executive Bill Winters, who started in June, was candid, admitting ‘mistakes were clearly’ made as the bank announced a doubling of impairments to $1.7 billion and the halving of its dividend.
Standard Chartered’s share price actually rose by 1.8% on the day owing to investor relief that it did not need a rights issue and hope that all the bad news was priced in.
However, Norris disagrees, believing that the asset quality in the underlying markets it operates in is deteriorating much more rapidly than the bank recognises, at a time when it has halved its loan loss provision from 3% to 1.5% - a low figure compared to its eurozone peer group’s average 3-5% provision.


‘We think that asset quality will continue to deteriorate and the worst is yet to come,’ Norris (pictured) said.
‘We also think that the company’s historic provisioning policy has been far from prudent and that the failure to take a sufficiently counter cyclical approach to provisioning in the good times will now lead to shareholders having to endure much greater cyclical pain as Asia and emerging market economies continue to slow.
‘We would also suggest that the bank has experienced a much lighter touch than its domestic peers from the UK regulator and that this is about to change. We think all of this will result in further bad news for Standard Chartered shareholders.’
Norris, who co-manages the fund with Greg Bennett, added that he believed Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong and Singapore assets in particular were exposed to a US interest rate hike.
He noted: ‘Take Hong Kong retail mortgages as an example. At the end of 2014 [the bank] had retail mortgage lending in Hong Kong of HK$174 billion ($22 billion), supported by just HK$5 million of loan loss provisions!
‘In other words, the implication is that the entire HK mortgage book has near to zero risk of loss. The bank might argue that asset prices of Hong Kong real estate have risen strongly providing comfort in collateral values and there are no customers defaulting, so they don’t need to take provisions for bad loans.
‘But this ignores the inherent cyclicality in lending money and the risk that the future might not look like the recent past.
‘Failure to provide for the risk that good loans might turn sour in the future means not only that historic profitability was over-stated but that Standard Chartered’s future prospects will be weighed down by the need to make amends for these past failings.’
The Argonaut Absolute Return fund has returned 73.3% over three years compared to the average 13.9% of funds in the Investment Association's Targeted Absolute Return sector.

 

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Yuan slide seen adding to StanChart’s Asian challenges

REUTERS: Already faced with a battle to revive the fortunes of banking group Standard Chartered , new Chief Executive Bill Winters is now confronted with another challenge in the shape of China’s yuan devaluation.

Just over a week after Winters outlined his plans to revive the bank after a slump in profits, analysts say his turnaround efforts could be hampered by the yuan devaluation which threatens to increase bad debts in Asia and weaken other currencies in the region.

London-based Standard Chartered is the European bank most exposed to Asia’s economic weakness and currency volatility, which come just as Winters launches his attempts to lift the bank’s fortunes and improve profitability.

“We think that asset quality will continue to deteriorate and the worst is yet to come,” said Barry Norris, Chief Investment Officer at Argonaut, a fund that has a short position on the stock.

The bank, for many years a favourite among investors because of its exposure to fast-growing Asian economies, had already come under pressure from rising losses on loans to commodities clients and to customers in China, India and elsewhere.

Southeast Asia (ASEAN), where Standard Chartered generates 19 percent of revenue and has 26 percent of loans, could be particularly impacted by currency turmoil, analysts said.

Shares in Standard Chartered, which have more than halved in value since hitting a record 1,975 pence in late 2010, are down 3.4 percent since China’s devaluation and HSBC is down 2.7 percent. By comparison European banks as a whole are down 2.3 percent.

The relatively muted reaction is because a rise in bad debts had already been forecast at StanChart and there were concerns about China’s slowdown, analysts said. The impact of weaker Asian currencies on revenue is also partly offset by a reduction in local expenses, such as wages, in dollar terms.
Credit Quality



But some say worse is to come.
“We believe ASEAN credit quality is set to deteriorate further, as existing trends are exacerbated by yuan devaluation,” said Joseph Dickerson, analyst at brokerage Jefferies.

He rates Standard Chartered “underperform” and has cut his price target on the stock to 602 pence from 656p.

Other analysts have also downgraded this week, with Nomura for instance cutting its target to 1055p from 1170p with a “neutral” rating.

China’s yuan depreciation has sparked jitters as its economy is slowing and it could start a “currency war”, which dragged other Asian currencies to multi-year lows.

Standard Chartered reports in U.S. dollars so earnings are hit when local currencies weaken against the dollar. Weak local currencies reduced its income by $277 million in the first six months of this year, representing more than one-third of its 8 percent income drop.

Rival HSBC is also heavily exposed to Asia, but is more diversified in Europe and the United States. Its core Hong Kong market also appears less affected by the recent turmoil, analysts said.

Standard Chartered acknowledged moves in the yuan-dollar rate would have a direct impact as it reports in dollars.

“The second-order impact on the Chinese economy and therefore our China-related business is obviously more of a macro (economic) conversation,” said a spokeswoman in an email, declining further comment.

 

[tryharder]

When will the jobs be given back to the Singapore core?

Yuan slide seen adding to StanChart’s Asian challenges

REUTERS: Already faced with a battle to revive the fortunes of banking group Standard Chartered , new Chief Executive Bill Winters is now confronted with another challenge in the shape of China’s yuan devaluation.

Just over a week after Winters outlined his plans to revive the bank after a slump in profits, analysts say his turnaround efforts could be hampered by the yuan devaluation which threatens to increase bad debts in Asia and weaken other currencies in the region.

London-based Standard Chartered is the European bank most exposed to Asia’s economic weakness and currency volatility, which come just as Winters launches his attempts to lift the bank’s fortunes and improve profitability.

“We think that asset quality will continue to deteriorate and the worst is yet to come,” said Barry Norris, Chief Investment Officer at Argonaut, a fund that has a short position on the stock.

The bank, for many years a favourite among investors because of its exposure to fast-growing Asian economies, had already come under pressure from rising losses on loans to commodities clients and to customers in China, India and elsewhere.

Southeast Asia (ASEAN), where Standard Chartered generates 19 percent of revenue and has 26 percent of loans, could be particularly impacted by currency turmoil, analysts said.

Shares in Standard Chartered, which have more than halved in value since hitting a record 1,975 pence in late 2010, are down 3.4 percent since China’s devaluation and HSBC is down 2.7 percent. By comparison European banks as a whole are down 2.3 percent.

The relatively muted reaction is because a rise in bad debts had already been forecast at StanChart and there were concerns about China’s slowdown, analysts said. The impact of weaker Asian currencies on revenue is also partly offset by a reduction in local expenses, such as wages, in dollar terms.
Credit Quality



But some say worse is to come.
“We believe ASEAN credit quality is set to deteriorate further, as existing trends are exacerbated by yuan devaluation,” said Joseph Dickerson, analyst at brokerage Jefferies.

He rates Standard Chartered “underperform” and has cut his price target on the stock to 602 pence from 656p.

Other analysts have also downgraded this week, with Nomura for instance cutting its target to 1055p from 1170p with a “neutral” rating.

China’s yuan depreciation has sparked jitters as its economy is slowing and it could start a “currency war”, which dragged other Asian currencies to multi-year lows.

Standard Chartered reports in U.S. dollars so earnings are hit when local currencies weaken against the dollar. Weak local currencies reduced its income by $277 million in the first six months of this year, representing more than one-third of its 8 percent income drop.

Rival HSBC is also heavily exposed to Asia, but is more diversified in Europe and the United States. Its core Hong Kong market also appears less affected by the recent turmoil, analysts said.

Standard Chartered acknowledged moves in the yuan-dollar rate would have a direct impact as it reports in dollars.

“The second-order impact on the Chinese economy and therefore our China-related business is obviously more of a macro (economic) conversation,” said a spokeswoman in an email, declining further comment.

 

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India's investment cycle showing signs of recovery: Standard Chartered

NEW DELHI: After a long "dormancy", the country's investment cycle is showing signs of recovery and to sustain
this trend the government needs to step in as "investor and enabler", a Standard Chartered report
said today.

"Our analysis of the recent Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy ( CMIE) data, shows initial signs of recovery, particularly in
infrastructure investment, after years of dormancy," Standard Chartered said in
a research note adding that "we expect the investment, after years of dormancy," Standard Chartered said in a research note
adding that "we expect the investment cycle to recover in FY16, albeit at a
gradual pace."

According to the global financial services major, an
investment recovery seems to have begun as investment remained on an upward
trend in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

The global brokerage said reviving the investment cycle is crucial to put
India's growth on a higher and more sustainable trajectory and in order to
support the recovery, government has to play the "dual role of investor and
enabler".

The government is driving the current investment recovery,
while private-sector investment remains soft, it said.

The report noted
that recovery in private-sector investment will be gradual and halting given
high corporate -sector leverage, a weak banking sector, and low capacity utilisation in sectors to
which the private sector has high exposure.

"Since these issues will
take time to resolve, a pick-up in private-sector investment is still two to
four quarters away, in our view. We expect India's investment growth to improve
to 7.2 per cent in FY16 from 4.6 per cent in FY15," the report said.

As
per the report, land acquisition hurdles, lack of funding, weak and
environmental clearances are are key bottlenecks to investment.

"The impact of global developments
on domestic investment also needs to be monitored. The recent sharp decline in
global metal prices, for example, is likely to curb private-sector investment in
the metal sector, delaying its recovery," the report added.

 

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[h=1]Standard Chartered Priced for a Crisis as Asian Economies Weaken[/h]
Standard Chartered Plc is priced for a crisis, with a stock valuation that has sunk to lower than during Asia’s meltdown in the 1990s or the global turmoil of 2007-08.
That record-low level may overstate the challenges faced by the London-based lender, according to Sanford C. Bernstein.
Circumstances are very different than in the 1997-98 Asian crisis, with the bank able to cut costs “much harder,” analysts led byChirantan Barua wrote in a note on Tuesday.

Standard Chartered has significantly higher capital than during the global financial crisis and has already made efforts to pare back its risk exposure, they said. Risks from India and South Korea are likely to moderate, they added.


Bill Winters -- Standard Chartered’s chief executive officer since June -- is facing a slowdown in Asia, where the bank makes most of its profit. The lender’s London and Hong Kong shares have slumped more than 25 percent this year, taking price-book valuations to about 0.6 times, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s below the 0.7 level seen during the 2008 global crisis.
Standard Chartered can boost its return on assets, including by disposing of low-yielding assets, the Bernstein analysts wrote, adding that the stock has “significant upside value” and may outperform its peers over the next two years.
The Hong Kong shares climbed 2.3 percent as of the city’s midday trading break on Tuesday, compared with the benchmark Hang Seng Index’s 3 percent advance. Its London listing is the worst-performing bank stock on the FTSE 100 Index this year.

Gabriel Kwan, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman, declined to comment on the lender’s share price.

 

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[h=1]StanChart feels the heat of EM slowdown[/h]Things have gone pear shaped for the Asia-centred bank with key markets such as China and India flagging and a commodity price slowdown

Standard Chartered Plc’s Indian depository receipts offered local investors one way of diversifying their exposure outside India. As a largely Asia-centred bank, it was able to escape the ravages of the great recession. But things have gone pear shaped now with key Asian markets such as China and India flagging and a commodity price slowdown.
Although the stock has rebounded in the last couple of trading sessions, it has shed close to one-fifth of its value this fiscal year, placing it close to the bottom of the pack of European banks outside Greece. The Indian depository receipts which can be converted into Standard Chartered shares and vice-versa follow a similar trend. The decline in this security is worse than the fall in the BSE’s Bankex index.
With such a steep decline in share prices, Standard Chartered trades at 0.6 time its book value, according to Bloomberg. That is lower than its 0.7 price to book value ratio during the great recession and places it in the company of the likes of Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India among local bank stocks.

The fall in the fortunes of Standard Chartered has been in the making for some time. Loan growth has been falling. In the first half of this calendar year, total advances fell 1.6% from a year ago. The bank’s revenue, too, fell 8.2% from a year ago. Although net profit increased by 14% in the first half, the pace has been slipping.
Of more concern to investors is asset quality. The bank reported a loan impairment of $1.74 billion in the first half, a 69% rise over a year ago. This increase was primarily driven by some issues in India, the meltdown in commodities and impairment in private banking.
Overall, gross non-performing loans for the bank rose to 2.4% of advances at the end of June, compared with 1.8% a year ago. Return on equity, too, plummeted to 5.4% versus 10.4% a year earlier.
Falling profitability and rising loan impairment lead to a familiar problem for banks—the ability to accumulate capital needed for further growth. Although the bank has more capital now than it did at the peak of the great recession, some analysts estimate that it might need to raise as much as $10 billion. The bank is already paring its exposure to commodities and cutting back on unsecured lending. But with the Greater China region accounting for as much as two-thirds of its profits, a slowdown in that region remains a big overhang on the stock.

 

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[h=1]Standard Chartered's new chief awarded £6.7m in shares [/h]


Deal designed to compensate Bill Winters for leaving hedge fund he co-founded


Standard Chartered has awarded its new boss Bill Winters £6.7m in shares, the bulk of which is intended to compensate him for quitting the hedge fund he was previously running.
The former investment banker was hired by the troubled bank in February to turn it around after a damaging Iran sanction-busting scandal and a series of profit warnings. He took up the post in June, leaving the Renshaw Bay hedge fund he founded in London four years ago.

Standard Chartered announced on Wednesday that Winters had been awarded a one-off signing-on fee of £6.3m in shares as well as a fixed pay allowance worth £413,000 in shares this year. From 2016, he will receive about £800,000 a year under the share plan, which is designed to get around the EU’s cap on bankers’ bonuses. The shares will be released over five years.

Standard Chartered is paying Winters an annual salary of £1.15m along with benefits of £35,000, and another £460,000 a year into a pension. In addition, he participates in a long-term incentive plan linked to share performance and could receive share awards up to twice his salary each year.


Shares in the emerging markets bank rose strongly after Winters’ appointment, but have since fallen to 674.8p from more than £10 in early August.
The veteran global banker replaced longstanding boss Peter Sands and less than a month into the job reshuffled Standard Chartered’s management team. He halved the dividend at the half-year results in August, which showed a 44% drop in profits, and left the door open to a fundraising to rebuild the firm’s financial strength. He is due to announce a full strategic review this year.


Standard Chartered is under scrutiny from US regulators after a £400m fine in 2012 for breaching American sanctions against Iran, and, like other banks, faces separate investigations into foreign exchange rigging.
Winters rose to prominence a decade ago as joint head of investment banking at JPMorgan, based in London, having joined the Wall Street firm as a trainee in 1983. He left the bank in 2009 after a row with his boss Jamie Dimon. He had been seen as a possible successor to Dimon, who remains in the top job even after battling throat cancer last year.
Winters has also been involved in an overhaul of UK banking as a member of the independent commission set up in 2010. The commission, chaired by Sir John Vickers, recommended banks ringfence their high street operations from their investment banking arms, as well as holding more capital.

 

[scbccb]

[h=2]Things Are Going From Bad To Worse For Standard Chartered PLC. Is It Time To Bail Out?[/h]Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) is in trouble once again with US regulators. And this time it could be the end of the road for the bank if it is found guilty.
The current troubles stem from issues that took place around nine years ago. Standard Chartered was found guilty by US regulators of breaching US sanctions against Iran, for which it was forced to pay nearly $1bn in fines.
After settling with the authorities the first time around, Standard promised to stop working with Iranian and Iran-connected companies. However, new evidence suggests that the bank continued to seek business with Iranian clients after promising regulators it would stop.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Standard has misled regulators to boost business. Back in 2012 the bank was fined $667m by US regulators and signed a deferred prosecution agreement for violating sanctions on Iran, Sudan, Libya and Myanmar. With such a checkered past behind it, some analysts have speculated that, if the latest set of accusations has some weight behind them, Standard could be shut out of the global financial markets.
[h=3]Shut out[/h]Standard Chartered is currently being investigated by the US Department of Justice, the Manhattan district attorney, the Federal Reserve, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) and the New York attorney general’s office, regarding potential new breaches of sanctions .
And if Standard is found guilty of violating sanctions, it is possible that regulators could suspend the bank’s dollar-clearing rights, which would be a crippling blow to Standard’s ability to conduct cross-border deals.
Such as drastic move is rare, but Standard has fallen foul of regulators so many times in the past that the authorities might decide to make an example of the bank. Back in 2012, the DFS accused Standard of being a “rogue institution“, which left the US financial system “vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes“.
[h=3]Time to bail out[/h]Standard is being buffeted by all sides. A slowdown in Asia has knocked the bank’s income and a spike in losses on legacy loans is eating away at Standard’s capital reserves. The bank has already been forced to cut its dividend payout to try to save cash. During the first-half of the year, Standard was forced to write off $1.7bn worth of loans.
What’s more, as I’ve written before, City analysts have estimated that around 20% of Standard’s total loan book is linked, directly and indirectly, to the commodity market. As commodity prices continue to slide, Standard’s financial situation could be deteriorating almost every day.
[h=3]The bottom line[/h]Overall, it’s difficult to find any reason to invest in Standard. If the bank is convicted of misleading regulators, it could face crippling sanctions. At the same time, the group’s balance sheet is coming under enormous pressure and profits are sliding. It could be years before the bank returns to growth.

 

[scbccb]

More woe for lender

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Standard Chartered (2888) is still reviewing whether some of its clients were Iranian or Iran- connected entities in 2013, according to the Financial Times, which said it has identified transactions that could put the bank at risk of more US penalties.Shares of Standard Chartered closed 4.47 percent lower at HK$85.40 yesterday.
The bank paid US authorities US$667 million (HK$5.17 billion) in 2012 after breaking sanctions, including with Iran, and was last year fined another US$300 million after shortcomings in its monitoring were uncovered.
In December, US authorities extended their monitoring of Standard Chartered's sanctions compliance by three years, partly due to "possible historical violations" of US sanctions laws that took place after 2007.

The Financial Times said it had seen documents suggesting that after the 2012 settlement, the bank "was still internally reviewing its client list and was unable to determine in certain cases whether customers were Iranian or not."
The newspaper said it had identified transactions involving Iran that could put the bank at risk of severe penalties ranging from further fines to suspension or loss of its crucial US dollar clearing license.
The paper quoted the bank as saying that following its decision to close its Iranian business in 2007 it had "a number of legacy obligations including dormant accounts, outstanding loans and trade-finance agreements."


REUTERS

 

[mojito]

Good chance for Temasek to buy it on the cheap.

 

[scbccb]

[h=2]HSBC, Standard Chartered commodities exposures high as traders struggle [/h]Standard Chartered and HSBC have notched high exposures to some of the world's biggest commodities traders at a time when low oil and raw materials prices are hitting trading houses.
Standard Chartered had about US$1.9 billion in syndicated-loan exposure at four major commodities traders, more than any other British-based bank, according to data from Sanford C Bernstein. Of that debt, more than US$1 billion was at Geneva-based Trafigura.
HSBC had the second-largest commodities exposure among British banks, with US$1.3 billion in syndicated lending connected to four firms, and roughly half of that at the world's biggest commodities trader Glencore.
The levels of exposure are a concern for the banks because many commodities - oil the key example - are trading at decade lows, hitting the profitability of trading companies and potentially impacting the repayment of the debt.
The S&P GSGI Brent Crude index has fallen about 55 per cent over the past 12 months.
While rating agencies have maintained investment-grade ratings on Glencore's bonds, unsecured senior debt maturing in May next year traded at below 93 cents to the dollar last week, or in the junk-bond pricing range, US media reported.
The yield on Trafigura's euro-denominated bonds rose steadily from mid-August before falling late last week. Trafigura is also heavily leveraged, with a 360 per cent total debt to equity ratio.
"The turbulence in commodities has resulted in the bonds of a number of key commodity players trading towards junk levels," London-based Bernstein analyst Chirantan Barua said in a note to investors on Monday. "Naturally investors are spooked about the banks' exposures to these players."
The exposures, especially at banks such as Standard Chartered, Barua argues, were already well known and priced into the banks' share prices.
The data from Bernstein shows that risk is spread throughout the banking sector, with Trafigura's debt to Standard Chartered equal to about 2.5 per cent the bank's book value. HSBC's Glencore exposure hit only 0.4 per cent.
Standard Chartered shares closed up 4.3 per cent in Hong Kong on Monday at HK$81.25, while HSBC closed up 2.19 per cent at HK$60.65.

 

[scbccb]

[h=1]Standard Chartered falls after broker downgrade [/h][h=2]Market Report: The FTSE 100 snapped its winning streak, falling 0.7pc, led lower by miners and Standard Chartered.[/h]Standard Chartered broke an eight day winning streak, after it suffered a rating downgrade.

The emerging markets-focused bank attracted the interest of broker Investec as analysts sought to attribute the 26pc “surge” in the share price in recent trading sessions to “market enthusiasm” triggered by reports it was planning on slashing 1,000 of its top staff. Shares fell 23.2p, or 2.9pc, to 763.5p after the broker lowered its rating to “hold”.

Although analysts reckon the bank’s share price is slightly cheap, they advised investors there is “much clearer” value elsewhere. Ian Gordon, of Investec, cautioned: “Despite a raft of recent downgrades, consensus revenue and earnings forecasts remain far too high, in our view.”

While brokers have been playing “catch-up” when it comes to rerating the stock, Investec said it continues to model “a far worse outcome” for the income statement than existing consensus assumptions. “We do not expect revenues and earnings per share to start to grow again until 2017 - consensus models a recovery from 2016,” Mr Gordon added.

Only last month, Standard Chartered found itself under renewed regulatory scrutiny for its exposure to Iran, as reports surfaced the bank was reviewing clients in 2013 to determine if they were Iranian or Iran-connected entities. In the last quarter, 38pc was wiped off the stock, as Asian exposure and concerns it would be forced into raising up to $9bnplagued the bank.


On the wider market, the jubilation of last week’s 4.67pc gain - its biggest in almost four years - was short lived, as the FTSE 100 opened the week in negative territory. The blue chip index experienced its first daily loss in nine consecutive trading sessions, as mining stocks came under pressure once more. It fell 44.98 points, or 0.7pc, to 6,371.18.
David Madden, of IG, said: “The losses in the mining sector are relatively small when compared with the losses it registered recently, but dealers are looking ahead to Chinese trade balance figures due overnight, and they are not taking any chances.”

Despite opening in positive territory, Glencore tumbled into the red as it announced plans to sell its Cobar copper mine in Australia and its Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile after receiving interest from possible buyers. On Friday, the Switzerland-based company said it would curtail 500,000 tonnes of zinc production - 4pc of global mine supply - next year.
Analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove said the key near-term catalyst for the mining and trading group is the outcome of targeted disposals. The investment bank reckons precious metals deals and the 100pc sale of its agriculture business could generate proceeds of more than $10bn. Shares in the miner slid 6.2pc to 121.2p.
Other commodity firms including Anglo American (down 4.8pc to 691.7p) and Antofagasta (3.3pc lower at 576.5p) were also among the heaviest fallers.
FTSE 100 engineer Rolls Royce was among the laggards, hurt by reports EU regulators are investigating whether airlines are being forced to enter anti-competitive contracts. The stock tumbled 29.5p, or 3.9pc, to 726p.
Whitbread, owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn, also edged lower, down 39p to £46.82, following a bearish note from Panmure Gordon, ahead of its half-year results on October 20. The broker expects wage inflation to accelerate in the immediate term, after Costa Coffee raised staff wages ahead of next April’s introduction of the living wage.
Analysts say mitigation plans, such as training, efficiencies and new rota systems, will take time to enact. The FTSE 100 company says it is still on track to add 5,500 rooms to Premier Inn hotels this year, but Panmure Gordon highlights such room additions follow a period of weaker-than-expected trading.
Even though the hotel chain will benefit from the Rugby World Cup in the short term, analysts believe growth is slowing overall.
British Airways owner, IAG, bucked the trend, advancing 7.5p to 570p, as Goldman Sachs began covering the stock again following the Aer Lingus acquisition.
The investment bank issued a “buy” rating, as it expects the airline to deliver modest capacity growth and believes its current valuation fails to reflect its higher return and growth prospects.


Support services company Carillion also made ground, up 11.8p to 313.5p, after it won £1.7bn worth of new business. Analysts at Liberum said the announcement should “reassure those that are fretting about trading”.
Ahead of Wednesday's deal deadline, SABMiller lost 47p to close at £36.22 after AB InBev made an improved offer, of £43.50 per share, for the UK-listed brewer.
With the deadline fast approaching, Chris Beauchamp, of IG, said: “The Belgian firm needs to go all out to avoid fumbling what could have been the big news of 2015 in the sector.”
Elsewhere, infection control company Tristel ticked 9.5pc higher to 115.5p after it beat market forecasts to post full-year revenues of £15.3m - up 13.8pc on the previous year. Analysts at finnCap upgraded their forecasts for next year, as they believe international expansion is going to be “a major driving force” of the company’s future growth.
Aim-listed consumer marketing business NAHL crept 3.9pc higher to 395p after splashing out £25m for Bush & Company Rehabilitation, a provider of specialist services to the catastrophic injuries market, in its biggest deal since listing last year.
Finally, shares in investment vehicle Mithril, which is backed by billionaire property developer Nick Candy, were suspended pending a reverse takeover. The group has agreed to acquire digital media agency Agenda21 in deal worth £12m. It intends to cancel its listing on the Official List and seek re-admission of the company’s share to trading on AIM in due course.

 

[Hans168]

When will the jobs be given back to the Singapore core?

once ah nehs are in they will stick like leeches......!!! Look at Nishi & Premanjall Gupta

 

[bushtucker]

i've closed all my stanchart current/saving accounts a few weeks ago. they have just implemented service fees and fall-below fees in Sep even for those accounts that were maintenance free. bloody leeches!

 

[Asterix]

I firmly believe that:

1) I am necessary,

2) Fark normal people,

3) 70% Sinkies are firmly within category 2 above ...........

[video=youtube;2f2kGHcdJYU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f2kGHcdJYU[/video]

 

[scbccb]

[h=1]Standard Chartered has 'a long road still to travel' says UBS [/h][h=2]Shares in Standard Chartered fell for a third-straight trading session after UBS lowered its target price.[/h]Standard Chartered was left nursing losses for a third consecutive day, after hitting a three week-high last Friday.

UBS slashed its target price, as it reckons there are “no quick fixes” for the group.

In a note entitled “a long road still to travel”, UBS lowered its target price from £10.20 to £8.

It believes the group’s “current return structure” is its biggest hurdle to a longer-term re-rating.

UBS said investors will need “considerable patience” as it expects Standard Chartered to face one to two years of low-to-mid digit returns before seeing return on equity rise by 9 to 10pc by 2017-end.
It reckons an emphasis on volume growth has left the bank “asset heavy and return poor” and it now needs to “aggressively exit” less profitable client relationships that are asset heavy.

Stephen Andrews, of UBS, said: “We think over the next couple of years “safe” profitable growth opportunities in Standard Chartered’s footprint are likely to be limited”.
On Monday, Investec downgraded the stock in response to “market enthusiasm” which was triggered by reports the bank was planning on axing 1,000 ot its top staff and prompted a 26pc surge in the share price.

 

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[h=1]Standard Chartered Eyes Equity Raise Next Month [/h][h=2]Analysts estimate the bank could raise over $5 billion by issuing shares[/h]Analysts have said the bank could raise more than $5 billion. But any rights issue would be highly dilutive to current shareholders.

LONDON—After months of deliberation, Standard Chartered PLC Chief Executive Bill Winters and his management team are leaning toward raising equity, a move that could be completed early next month, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Asia-focused bank has been weighing whether to raise capital after a slowdown in key markets and rising bad loan levels. A decision hasn’t been made and the issue is set to be discussed by the board after the bank presents its third-quarter earnings on Nov. 3, these people said.
“If we need capital for the long-term benefit of the bank, we will raise capital. If we don’t need it, we won’t,” a bank spokesman said.
For months Standard Chartered executives have debated whether the lender needs to bolster its balance sheet by issuing shares—a move resisted by the bank’s previous management team.


The bank is cooperating with a Justice Department investigation into possible violations of U.S. sanctions laws and bank executives are trying to get clarity on any potential fines before asking shareholders for cash, one person familiar with the matter said.
Since his appointment was announced in February, Mr. Winters has been analyzing the bank’s balance sheet, which expanded rapidly in the past decade, fueled by emerging-market growth.
Standard Chartered’s share price has dropped 33% over the past year amid fears over slowing Chinese economic growth and souring loans, the result of falling commodity prices.
The Bank of England, meanwhile, is completing bank “stress tests,” with results set to be presented on Dec. 1. The balance-sheet evaluation will focus on U.K. banks’ exposure to emerging markets, a factor that could act as a catalyst for Standard Chartered to raise equity, analysts say.
“Uncertainty over strategy and the U.K. stress test leaves too many uncertainties to be confident on the potential value,” analysts at Berenberg said in a research note.
Since Mr. Winters’s arrival, several Asia-based senior executives have left the bank. Standard Chartered Chairman John Peace is due to leave the lender in 2016. His successor hasn’t been announced.
Mr. Winters has other levers to pull to increase the bank’s capital levels. In August the bank halved its dividend. Standard Chartered also could sell parts of its franchise.
Last week the bank outlined plans to cut one-quarter of its 4,000 senior managers. South Korea and the bank’s broader Asian retail strategy are being monitored as part of a strategic review, which is due to be presented to investors before the end of the year.

 

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此地無銀三百兩

Fraudsters beware... City of London police are teaming up with Standard Chartered

City of London police has started a programme to train bankers to fight fraud, starting with Standard Chartered who will be descending on the City this week.


The programme was designed to standardise investigative techniques within Standard Chartered's multitude of regional offices.


Kathy Hearn, director of the Economic Crime Academy, which has helped design the course, said: “The need for these courses was recently highlighted when the British Crime Survey stated that there have been more than 5 million fraud offences in the past year across the UK. A proportion of these crimes will have been committed against the banking sector, which is why it is so vital that their staff are trained with the very latest fraud prevention techniques.”



She told City A.M. it would help “tighten up procedures” and encourage preventative practises as well as looking at how the bank carried out internal investigations, and “identifying weaknesses” for example: “is one individual able to sign off on too much?”
The programme will cover strategies to deal with bribery, asset tracing and disrupting criminal movements, money laundering and fraud investigation, and be personalised with specific case studies for the bank.


Michael Welch, group head of Shared Investigative Services at Standard Chartered said:

The bank is proud to be involved from the outset with the City of London Police’s innovative programme of counter fraud and core investigative technique training, which we expect will become the industry-wide standard of competence in investigations. By enhancing the knowledge and expertise of our investigators we recognise the practical benefits the initiative will offer globally for a wide range of investigations.
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All Standard Chartered's delegates, from Pakistan to South Korea to Kenya and Hong Kong, who complete the course will be accredited Counter Fraud Specialists.


Hearn said: “We're the only people teaching this at the moment” and that the Academy were considering rolling the programme out and adapting it to train other companies, and had already had “lots of interest” from other organisations.

 

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萬聖節快樂!

 

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[h=1]Standard Chartered planning to raise at least $4bn[/h]Standard Chartered is in talks with bankers for a possible capital raise. The struggling bank is believed to be eyeing at least $4bn (£2.6bn, €3.6bn).


Even though discussions have taken place, a decision on a possible share sale is yet to be taken. The company requires close to $8bn to maintain operations and planned growth, according to Bloomberg. Some analysts, however, think the bank needs a higher $10bn.


News of the potential capital raise caused Standard Chartered's shares to drop 3.8% on 29 October. For the year, the stock is down about 25%.
The bank's CEO Bill Winters, who took the reins in June 2015, said in August he has no intention to raise capital immediately and will take a decision after the Bank of England publishes the results of its stress tests on 1 December.


The London-based lender generates a majority of its revenues from Asia and has been negatively affected by the slowdown in China and the fall in commodity prices. For the last two years, Standard Chartered has witnessed a slide in profits and has come under pressure from investors leading to the exit of CEO Peter Sands.


Earlier in October, the bank reportedly considered doing away with a quarter of its senior staff, causing about 1,000 job cuts worldwide. Also, Standard Chartered said it will close its equity derivatives and convertible bonds verticals. All these are in line with Winters's strategy to turn around the company's performance by exiting non-core businesses.


Winters, who has pledged to reduce the bank's risk-weighted assets by about $30bn by 2016, has slashed dividends by half, creating $1bn in savings.