Standard Chartered PLC at Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : And maybe we'll just address the first question in that poll, which is net interest income outlook and what in your mind are the key blocks that are sort of underpinning that outlook, especially given the rate volatility we've had in the last few months.

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. Perfect. And you mentioned in there, you spoke a little bit about affluent and how you're shifting into the wealth business. We've seen obviously equity markets under a lot of pressure, especially US equity markets. I guess we've also seen volatility, which typically people want more advice in that environment. So how are you seeing wealth sort of progress at the moment? And if you think about some of the trends in the market, what are you doing to sort of offset some of the impacts on your business for most trends?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : And just in terms of, I guess, the higher end of that wealth continuum. I mean, what are you seeing at the moment in terms of competition for RMs? And if we think about the life of an RM, where are you at the moment in terms of our hiring cycle productive cycle?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. Really, that's perfect. So if we want to move on to the wholesale banking side. And I guess we've seen a lot of market volatility, which I assume, benefits trading businesses. I just wonder -- I mean, you tend to be more of a market business in that space rather than an ECM or a DCM or an ECM type business. So what are you seeing there? Are you seeing sort of strong performance come through from that volatility?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : So going back to that point and you've obviously produced a very interesting slide in your results chart. Lots of blue and green lines moving all over the place. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 19, 2025 / 11:00AM, STAN.L - Standard Chartered PLC at Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : It does look very --

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : But ultimately, a lot of trade is driven by the US as an end market. So when you're talking to your clients across these different markets and across these different trade corridors, what are they talking about in terms of how they may react if that just becomes a less attractive market for them over time?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. Perfect. And then sticking on to CIB. I mean, obviously, some of the Standard Charter has done for a very long time is the originate to distribute model. And it seems that a lot of other banks are now beginning to talk about that, especially in the Asia region. I mean, not just sort of international banks, but some of the local and regional banks are talking about the same model. So I just wonder if you could talk about a couple of things. I mean, first of all, are you seeing a pickup in competition there? Are you -- what is the environment like? And then secondly, who are you -- who are the buyers of the distributed products and what are the trends you see in terms of demand for that product going forward? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 19, 2025 / 11:00AM, STAN.L - Standard Chartered PLC at Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. That's interesting. And then if we could talk a little bit about ventures. So I think your target is less than $200 million of cumulative losses in '25, '26, most of that, I think, in '25. Can you talk about how that's going to happen? I mean, is this all uplift from Mox and Trust? Is it gains from the other sort of venture portfolio of businesses? And if it's the former, so Trust and Mox, what's going to drive that sort of big uplift in profitability?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. Great. Maybe now if we could talk about costs. You've obviously -- I mean, Fit for Growth appears to be progressing well. And when you've gone through the implementation of this program? And I guess this year is the big year for implementation, what have been the unexpected challenges that you faced it -- faced?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. And then what's next? I mean, when we get to the end of 2026, and we've delivered the cost target, is there more to go? And I guess, in particular, I'm thinking about what you can do on AI. I mean, we've had -- again, from a region, if I take two banks, DBS has spoken about getting rid of a large number of its contingent staff. So I think it's about 10% of its workforce. And CIB is talking about 10% PPOP uplift from AI. So what do you think you can achieve from AI?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. And credit, I don't think that's something is high up people's concerns at the moment, which is good news. But I guess if you could talk about -- I mean, at the moment, it feels like we're in one of those places where the exception maybe of Hong Kong CRE. There's not a huge amount that's actually on the radar. But we've got a changing global dynamic. So where are you sort of looking at the moment and thinking are the lights beginning to flash. What should I focus? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 19, 2025 / 11:00AM, STAN.L - Standard Chartered PLC at Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. I'm going to stop there and ask if there's any questions from the audience. Is there anybody who has anything like to ask? Maybe I will go on with another one. You're approaching -- well, you're making good progress towards your target of approaching 13% RoTE guidance. We're in a very different position now in terms of exceptions of a bank from where we were even two or three years ago. So do you think you've earned the right to make bolt-on acquisitions at this stage? And what are the areas where you're missing, where would you look?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. That's pretty clear. And then if we just talk about Hong Kong, which I guess is your biggest market, and it's been a market that's been challenged for some time. What is your outlook there? I mean are you seeing green shoots come through? Are you -- how long does it take for loan growth really to pick up in Hong Kong? What is the view on what we're seeing there?

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. We've got a couple more minutes left. So just going to check if there's any last questions from the audience? No.

Question: Nick Lord - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : You're going to have lots of questions to come through. So Diego, thank you very much.