The bank, which has reported a momentum in onboarding affluent clients, has gained more than 250,000 clients in 2024.

Standard Chartered has reported a 28 per cent year-on-year rise in wealth solutions operating income, reaching $2.49 billion for 2024. The segment includes results for investment products and bancassurance.

Total underlying operating income rose by 14 per cent to $17.4 billion last year, the UK-listed bank, which earns the lion’s share of its revenues in regions such as Asia, said in a statement on Friday. 

The bank said the 36 per cent rise in investment products income was helped by momentum in affluent new-to-bank onboarding; 265,000 clients came on board to the bank last year, bringing with them $44 billion in net new money, a year-on-year surge of 61 per cent.

Across the whole StanChart group, it logged a reported 2024 profit of $4.04 billion in 2024, rising 17 per cent. Operating income rose 14 per cent; operating expenses, on an underlying basis, rose 7 per cent least year. Credit impairment widened to $557 million from $528 million from a year before, up 5 per cent.

A final ordinary dividend per share of 28 cents has been proposed, taking the full-year dividend to 37 cents per share, a 37 per cent increase year-on-year. StanChart completed a $1 billion share buyback programme in the first half of 2024; its $1.5 billion programme announced last July was wrapped up on 30 January this year.

The bank had a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 14.2 per cent at the end of 2024, little changed on a year before. 

Looking ahead, StanChart said its guidance for this year and 2026 is for operating income to rise 5 to 7 per cent for the 2023-26 period in constant currency terms. Operating costs are to be under $12.3 billion in 2026, in constant currency terms; expense savings of $1.5 billion are being targeted. The bank intends to raise its full-year dividend per share over time.