Wealth and fee income continue to reduce reliance on interest rates
Upgraded guidance and a $1bn buyback
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Standard Chartered delivered a stronger-than-expected second quarter, with the result underpinned by broad-based revenue growth, disciplined cost control and lower-than-feared credit losses. The earnings beat was driven by more than just higher interest income, with strong momentum across fee-generating businesses powering the result. Wealth Solutions continued to stand out, and Global Banking and Markets also contributed to a quarter that showed the benefits of Standard Chartered's increasingly diversified business mix. Just as importantly, management felt confident enough to upgrade its income outlook for the year and announce a fresh $1bn share buyback, signalling confidence that the momentum seen in the first half can continue.
Although the headline result was clearly ahead of expectations, the bigger story is that Standard Chartered continues to make progress on areas that investors have wanted to see for some time. Growth is increasingly coming from businesses tied to wealth management, transaction banking and capital markets activity rather than relying heavily on interest rate tailwinds. There are still reasons for caution, including questions over how much of the stronger performance will translate into consensus upgrades and whether some of the capital benefits will unwind later in the year. But the overall direction of travel remains encouraging. Standard Chartered is generating stronger returns, returning more capital to shareholders and demonstrating that its growth strategy is gaining traction, leaving investors with a picture of a bank that looks more balanced, more resilient and increasingly capable of delivering sustainable growth.”
Notes to Editors
HL is the UK’s largest investment and savings platform for private investors and more than 2.2 million clients trust us with £205 billion (as of June 2026).
We help Britain build wealth, with confidence. Our promise is simple: to provide the best products, the best support and the best value. Founded in 1981, we’ve been helping people save and invest for a better financial future for more than four decades. We offer a lifelong, secure home for our clients’ investments and savings, combining great value with outstanding service, to make managing your money easier at every stage of life.
Our award-winning Savings & Resilience Barometer measures the nation’s financial resilience across our 5 to Thrive pillars, equipping people with the tools they need to strengthen their financial futures.
Saving and investing is for the whole family, and to support intergenerational wealth transfer, we’ve removed all platform charges and share dealing fees on our Junior ISA, meaning kids go free, and we’ve reduced the platform fee on our Lifetime ISA to 0.25%, supporting those savings for their first home or for retirement.
Regular saving into all funds, FTSE 350 shares, and selected investment trusts and ETFs is free.
Our clients also have access to the most comprehensive pension and retirement solution, including SIPP accounts, SIPP Income Drawdown, UFPLS payments and annuities, as well as over 14,000 investment options across funds, shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts.
HL Active Savings is the UK's largest retail cash savings platform that lets savers easily make more of their money and the HL Cash ISA allows savers to manage their Cash ISA portfolio across multiple banks, all within one account.