Standard Chartered To Axe Thousands More Jobs

Standard Chartered (HKSE: 2888.HK - news) , the Asia-focused bank which has its headquarters in London, has announced thousands more job losses.

Peter Sands, the bank's under-fire chief executive, confirmed he was cutting a further 2,000 jobs in StanChart (HKSE: 2888-OL.HK - news) 's retail division and closing the bulk of its global equities business as he moved to revive its fortunes.

It has struggled with bad loans in emerging markets amid the economic slowdown in Asia, resulting in three profit warnings and a 40% slump in its share price following a decade of record profit growth.

The bank said in a statement that it was dismantling its stock broking, equity research and equity listing desks worldwide, leading to 200 job cuts.

Staff in Hong Kong and Singapore were either locked out of their offices on Thursday morning or escorted from their desks.

The latest cull in its retail business, which spans 34 countries, will take total job losses this year to 4,000.

The move forms part of a cost-cutting plan the bank announced last October and followed a downgrade by the ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

Mr Sands, who has led StanChart for eight years, has found his position under threat from investors in recent months.

Its biggest shareholders include Singapore state investor Temasek and asset managers Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF - news) and BlackRock (NYSE: BLK - news) .

The bank's share price rose more than 2% in early trading on the FTSE 100 on Thursday.