(Feb 20): The shock exit of Standard Chartered plc’s finance chief and the implications of HSBC Holdings plc’s multibillion-dollar purchase of a bank stake will loom large as the two report earnings.
Standard Chartered investors were caught off guard by the resignation of chief financial officer Diego De Giorgi, a potential successor for the top job and a key figure behind its US$1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) cost-cutting programme. The bank’s shares have tumbled over 6% since his resignation.
At HSBC, analysts will watch for the earnings impact of its buyout of Hang Seng Bank Ltd. HSBC bought the shares it didn’t already own at a US$37 billion valuation, a 30% premium to its market value. Chief executive officer Georges Elhedery said the deal would deliver greater shareholder value than buy-backs. Morningstar analyst Kathy Chan expects revenue and cost savings to come through gradually in the medium term.
Sector-wide earnings growth for 2025 is expected to have come from robust non-interest income, estimates show, as banks lean into wealth management. The normalisation of Hibor, the Hong Kong benchmark interbank rate, will also be a tailwind for quarterly earnings, analysts at Citi said.
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