Standard Chartered has published its Q3 2024 results, and while the bank only breaks out full cross-border payments metrics on a half-yearly basis, it did provide a strategy update that places cross-border payments at the centre.

As we previously discussed in our state of banking report, Standard Chartered is one of the most cross-border payments-focused banks, reporting contributions across the three units of its Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) segment: Transaction Services, Global Banking and Global Markets. The bank also characterises itself as cross-border focused at a very high level.

While in Q3 the company did not break out direct cross-border contributions to revenue, it reported that overall CIB operating income had grown by 3% YoY to reach $2.9bn for the quarter, although its largest unit Transaction Services saw a -5% decline, while Global Banking and Global Markets grew 6% and 17% YoY respectively.

However, the company also highlighted plans to increase the cross-border share of income in CIB from 2023’s 61%, which H1 2024 data was in line with, to around 70% in the “medium term”. This will see the company increasingly focus on “larger global clients who rely on [Standard Chartered’s] unique cross-border capabilities”, according to CEO Bill Winters.

These larger global corporate clients require more sophisticated cross-border-related tools, with the bank citing transaction services, financing and risk management – as well as explicit expertise and advisory on Asia, Africa and the Middle East – as among these. To support this, the company is looking to invest in relationship managers for these regions.

However, it will also be offloading CIB clients that are less in alignment with its cross-border-focused goals, with the company planning to “exit around 3,000, or a quarter of CIB clients” who have needs that “do not play directly” to the bank’s strengths, according to Winters.

It is also looking to make similar cross-border-focused moves in its Wealth & Retail Banking segment. In order to fund this, Standard Chartered reports that it is looking to sell a small number of businesses that are no longer as fully aligned with its business goals, particularly those focused on mass retail banking. 

How can my bank refine its cross-border payments strategy?

Lucy Ingham

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Lucy is Head of Content & Editor-in-Chief at FXC Intelligence, overseeing all content and taking deep dives into the trends and data driving changes in payments. Before joining FXC Intelligence, Lucy worked as a technology journalist and editor, interviewing CEOs and major names across enterprise technology, including fintech. She has an MSc in Development Anthropology from Durham University.