Standard Chartered (2888)

[CityFarmer]

StanChart may sell South Korean consumer finance units

HONG KONG - Standard Chartered said it could sell two South Korean consumer finance units after taking a US$1 billion (S$1.26 billion) writedown on its business there, underscoring the diminished potential of what the Asia-focused bank calls its most difficult market.

The bank has been hit by regulatory changes that have forced the sector to forgive loans by highly indebted individuals, a slowing economy and high labour costs that have proven fiendishly tricky to alter.

But it is not planning a broad-based exit, betting that cross-border financing opportunities provided by leading companies such as Samsung Electronics will make riding out the current flurry of ill winds worthwhile.

http://www.todayonline.com/business/stan...ance-units

[CityFarmer]

IIRC, StanChart is the only bank has significant present in all RMB Offshore hubs i.e. HK, London, and Singapore.

StanChart to step up expansion in Singapore after incorporating subsidiary

SINGAPORE – British lender Standard Chartered is looking to strengthen its competitive position in Singapore’s crowded domestic banking space, where it may open up to 10 additional branches following the consolidation of its consumer and small and medium enterprise (SME) banking businesses into a locally-incorporated subsidiary.

“We expect overtime to leverage on being locally incorporated vis-à-vis the competition from those that are not … We expect to request for approval for additional branches and ATMs. That’s our key constraint on our retail business today, and (being locally incorporated) will help us going forward,” Mr Ray Ferguson, CEO of the newly incorporated Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Ltd, said at the inauguration ceremony on Monday.

StanChart currently has 19 branches, seven priority banking centres and 31 ATMs across 25 places of business in Singapore, Mr Ferguson said. But that number may potentially double once the European Union-Singapore free-trade agreement comes into force.

“That will double up to 50 assuming a bank is locally (incorporated) and once the EU-Singapore FTA is completed sometime next year,” Mr Ferguson explained. “But within the 25 new places, we’re only allowed to have up to 10 physical branches. The rest will have to be ATMs or kiosks.” The expansion will be subject to regulatory approval.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/stan...subsidiary

[mulyc]

the more competition the better for us consumers.

[pianist]

today they give free haagen daazs ice-cream one scoop for every card u flash to them..anyone tried that?

[CityFarmer]

Standard Chartered private bank clients have good reason to feel unhappy. Their bank statements were stolen unknowingly, till the bank be informed by outsider. How many more are stolen might be still a question remain unanswered...

Standard Chartered clients’ monthly bank statements stolen

SINGAPORE — Nearly 650 Standard Chartered Private Bank clients’ monthly bank statement for February have been stolen, the bank said today (Dec 5).

The bank, which was alerted to the theft by the police, said its investigations showed the theft occurred through one of the servers of a third party service provider, Fuji Xerox Singapore, which the bank engaged to print bank statements for its Private Bank clients. It did not occur through the bank’s IT and data security systems, said Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered said that the 647 affected clients had not found any unauthorised transactions resulting from this incident. “As a precautionary measure, the bank is contacting its affected Private Bank clients. No Wholesale Banking clients, SME and retail customers are affected,” said the bank.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/sta...ent-stolen

[valueinvestor]

Standard Chartered private bank clients have good reason to feel unhappy. Their bank statements were stolen unknowingly, till the bank be informed by outsider. How many more are stolen might be still a question remain unanswered...

Standard Chartered clients’ monthly bank statements stolen

SINGAPORE — Nearly 650 Standard Chartered Private Bank clients’ monthly bank statement for February have been stolen, the bank said today (Dec 5).

The bank, which was alerted to the theft by the police, said its investigations showed the theft occurred through one of the servers of a third party service provider, Fuji Xerox Singapore, which the bank engaged to print bank statements for its Private Bank clients. It did not occur through the bank’s IT and data security systems, said Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered said that the 647 affected clients had not found any unauthorised transactions resulting from this incident. “As a precautionary measure, the bank is contacting its affected Private Bank clients. No Wholesale Banking clients, SME and retail customers are affected,” said the bank.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/sta...ent-stolen

MAS already said this was an isolated case , consumers confidence not affected. If MAS doesn't feel unhappy , why the customers ?

[pianist]

think sc recently formed a Sg subsidiary...and celebrated xx years anniversary..mas shld be beri happy la

[CityFarmer]

Latest update on the bank...

Standard Chartered looks to get slimmer

LONDON — British banking giant Standard Chartered is nearing deals to sell about half a dozen units in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as part of an effort to combat an emerging-market slowdown and worries about the bank’s financial health, said people familiar with the matter.

StanChart is in advanced talks to sell Standard Chartered Savings Bank and Standard Chartered Capital in South Korea, said the sources. The bank is also preparing to make an announcement soon about having sold its Lebanese retail bank, they said. It is not clear who the buyers for the South Korean or Lebanese units will be.

Although it is headquartered in London, StanChart generates 90 per cent of its profit in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Other businesses on the block include StanChart’s Hong Kong consumer finance business called PrimeCredit, its German consumer bank and its Swiss private bank, the sources said.

The sales are the latest in an abrupt turn in fortunes for StanChart. Until recently, the bank’s focus on emerging markets helped it avoid the problems that have dogged many European banks and made it a darling of investors. But turbulence in many of StanChart’s markets has walloped its shares, which are down 31 per cent over the past year amid concerns that the bank needs more capital to absorb potential losses. On Monday, StanChart shares fell 1 per cent to £12.52 (S$26.59) each in London.

South Korea has been a particular headache for the bank, partly because of a government programme that allows borrowers to restructure debts. The bank wrote down the value of its business there by US$1 billion (S$1.27 billion) in the first half of last year and said it expected to post a full-year operating loss in the country of as much as US$200 million.

StanChart is scheduled to report its 2013 full-year results today: The lender had warned in December that annual operating profit would be less than 2012’s US$6.8 billion.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/stan...et-slimmer

[CityFarmer]

Standard Chartered private bank clients have good reason to feel unhappy. Their bank statements were stolen unknowingly, till the bank be informed by outsider. How many more are stolen might be still a question remain unanswered...

Standard Chartered clients’ monthly bank statements stolen

SINGAPORE — Nearly 650 Standard Chartered Private Bank clients’ monthly bank statement for February have been stolen, the bank said today (Dec 5).

The bank, which was alerted to the theft by the police, said its investigations showed the theft occurred through one of the servers of a third party service provider, Fuji Xerox Singapore, which the bank engaged to print bank statements for its Private Bank clients. It did not occur through the bank’s IT and data security systems, said Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered said that the 647 affected clients had not found any unauthorised transactions resulting from this incident. “As a precautionary measure, the bank is contacting its affected Private Bank clients. No Wholesale Banking clients, SME and retail customers are affected,” said the bank.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/sta...ent-stolen

Latest update on the incident

MAS takes supervisory action against StanChart for statement theft

SINGAPORE — The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has taken “appropriate supervisory action” against Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) for last year’s theft of bank statements belonging to 647 of its private banking clients.

However, in the central bank’s response to media queries yesterday, it did not disclose the details of its action against StanChart.

“The MAS generally does not disclose details of its supervisory actions,” it said.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mas...ment-theft

[CityFarmer]

Temasek losing faith on the company?

(not vested)

Temasek's StanChart stake dips after it takes dividend in cash

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek's stake in Standard Chartered has dipped to just below 18% after it opted to take the bank's latest dividend in cash, while a majority of other investors took their payouts in shares.

Temasek has been Standard Chartered's biggest investor since 2006. It said on Tuesday its holding had dipped to 17.75%, from 18.06% at the end of December. Any change in holding through a percentage point needs to be disclosed.

The reduction was because Temasek took the final 2013 dividend in cash, a person familiar with the matter said.

Standard Chartered said about half of its shareholders took the final dividend in stock, meaning it has to issue millions more shares, which dilutes the percentage holding of investors that take cash.

The final 2013 dividend of 57.2 cents was paid last week.
http://www.theedgesingapore.com/the-dail...-cash.html#