<div id="readability-page-1"><div id="parent_top_div">By Ambereen Choudhury, Denise Wee, and Kiuyan Wong Standard Chartered Plc plans to eliminate thousands of support roles over the next four years, joining the growing ranks of global lenders using artificial intelligence to trim headcount. The London-headquartered bank said it would cut corporate functions roles by more than 15 per cent by 2030 and scale practical uses of AI to streamline processes, according to a statement on Tuesday. The bank had 52,271 of employees in back-office operations at the end of last year. “We don’t have job losses, but we do have job role reductions in favor of the machines, and that will accelerate as we go forward into AI,” Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters said at a press briefing in Hong Kong. The move aligns Standard Chartered with global peers seeking technological efficiencies. HSBC Holdings Plc is mulling deep job cuts over the coming years, while Wall Street firms are similarly pivoting. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron recently described his firm’s traditional operations as a “human assembly line” ripe for automation. The announcement comes as Standard Chartered kicks off an investor and analyst hub in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Winters and his management team are set to outline the bank’s medium-term financial framework, growth initiatives, and strategic priorities. Alongside the AI-driven restructuring and a recent reshuffle of senior management, the lender unveiled new return targets. Standard Chartered is aiming for a 3 percentage point improvement in its return on tangible equity, targeting 15 per cent by 2028 and 18 per cent by 2030. The bank also expects to improve its cost-to-income ratio to 57 per cent by 2028. The job cuts would drive productivity improvements to raise income per employee by about 20 per cent by 2028, according to StanChart. Corporate function roles are support roles and include positions such as risk management and regulatory compliance, according to its website. <h3> ‘Fit for Growth’</h3> The bank is meeting with investors after earnings hit records and comfortably outpaced analyst estimates, bolstered by a record $18 billion in net new money flows to its wealth business. That helped cushion the blow from $190 million in “precautionary management overlays” set aside to navigate risks stemming from conflict in the Middle East. The bank’s “Fit for Growth” restructuring program is slated to conclude this year. The initiative, designed to streamline operations and deliver $1.5 billion in savings, comprised hundreds of individual projects with targets ranging from minor operational tweaks to multi-million dollar overhauls. After surging almost 120 per cent between early April 2025 and early February this year, the share rally suffered a setback, first from the surprise departure of Chief Financial Officer Diego De Giorgi, and later from the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East. They have largely recovered since then. De Giorgi, a veteran of Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., was widely considered a top contender to eventually succeed Winter. The lender earlier this week named Manus Costello as its new chief financial officer, promoting a former research analyst and critic of the bank to replace De Giorgi. Costello was hired in 2024 as global head of investor relations.</div></div>

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Standard Chartered Plc plans to cut over 15% of its corporate support roles by 2030, leveraging AI to enhance efficiency. CEO Bill Winters stated that while there won't be job losses, roles will be reduced in favor of automation. The bank aims for a 15% return on tangible equity by 2028 and a cost-to-income ratio of 57%. This restructuring aligns with industry trends as other banks also seek technological efficiencies.

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StanChart planning to lay off thousands of support staff amid AI push