StanChart misses estimates in last results under CEO Sands

London

STANDARD Chartered plc (StanChart) reported first-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates, with all but one division reporting lower earnings in Peter Sands' final results as chief executive officer.

Pre-tax profit fell 22 per cent to US$1.5 billion from the year-earlier period, the London-based lender said in a statement on Tuesday. That missed the US$1.6 billion average estimate of four analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

StanChart hired Bill Winters, 53, a former co-head of JPMorgan Chase & Co's investment bank, to take over as CEO in June after Mr Sands struggled to reverse two years of declining earnings and a slump in shares. The board has come under pressure from investors to move to Asia as UK taxes on banks continue to rise, with finance director Andy Halford saying on Tuesday that a move …