Banking giant Standard Chartered modifies global approach to border transactions
Standard Chartered Shifts Focus to Cross-Border Banking
Standard Chartered, the international banking group, has announced a strategic shift towards a more cross-border focused approach in its Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) segment. This move comes as the bank aims to better serve its clients with its unique cross-border capabilities.
In Q3 2024, the bank published its results, showing an overall CIB operating income growth of 3% YoY, reaching $2.9bn. While the largest unit, Transaction Services, saw a -5% decline, Global Banking and Global Markets grew 6% and 17% YoY respectively. This growth was a significant contributor to the overall increase in income.
The bank is looking to focus on larger global clients who require more sophisticated cross-border-related tools, including transaction services, financing, risk management, and expertise on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. To support this, Standard Chartered is planning to invest in relationship managers for these regions.
However, the bank did not break out direct cross-border contributions to revenue in Q3 2024. To fund these changes, Standard Chartered is considering selling a small number of businesses focused on mass retail banking that are no longer fully aligned with its business goals.
Standard Chartered aims to increase the cross-border share of income in its CIB segment from 61% in 2023 to around 70% in the medium term. This shift in focus is part of the bank's broader strategy to characterize itself as cross-border focused at a high level.
Banks looking to optimize their cross-border payments focus can implement several key strategies. These include implementing intelligent scheduling, enhancing payment infrastructure, standardizing payment formats, leveraging global payment platforms, emphasizing real-time settlement, strengthening fraud management, and using alternative networks and technologies. By combining these approaches, banks can reduce costs, improve efficiency, increase security, and provide better transparency and customer experience in cross-border payments.
This strategic shift by Standard Chartered underscores the growing importance of cross-border banking in the global financial landscape. As the bank continues to invest in its cross-border capabilities, it is poised to serve its clients more effectively and compete more successfully in this evolving market.
Investing in relationship managers for specific regions is part of Standard Chartered's plan to focus on larger global clients who require cross-border tools, such as transaction services, financing, risk management, and expertise on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. To achieve a higher share of cross-border income in its Corporate & Investment Banking segment, the bank aims to increase its cross-border focus from 61% in 2023 to around 70% in the medium term, showcasing its commitment to cross-border banking and investing.
