Standard Chartered (StanChart) on Tuesday said it would cut around 15 per cent of its corporate function roles globally by 2030.
In an internal email sent to employees titled “Our Next Phase of Growth,” the global bank said that the transformation is ongoing and the process of change will impact > 15 per cent of corporate functions by 2030.
“Some roles will reduce, others will grow, and new ones will emerge. We expect a reduction in corporate functions roles of more than 15 per cent by 2030. We recognize the uncertainty this creates. We’ll manage this with discipline, through reskilling, redeployment and clear decision making. And where roles do fall away, it reflects changes in the work, not the value of the people. We will handle that with respect and care,” the London-headquartered lender said in the note to employees.
As per the bank’s investor day presentation, “corporate functions” is defined as non-frontline support services headcount along with independent contractors/ consultants.
As of end of 2025, StanChart employed around 28,000 people in India and out of this 22,000 are in the Global Business Services (GBS), its back office operations. 13,000 out of the India GBS headcount of 22,000 are in Chennai alone with Bengaluru and Mumbai being the other locations. GBS operations are also in Malaysia, Poland, China and Phillipines.
Internal note
In the internal note, the bank also said that it will continue to grow income, improve productivity and increase returns, while investing in the capabilities that keep them competitive.
“And we are positioned where demand is growing, reinforcing our cross-border, affluent and sustainable finance capabilities, supporting clients as they invest, diversify and build across markets,” it said.
Standard Chartered did not respond to businessline queries on the extent of impact of the restructuring plan on India.
Reuters quotes CEO Bill Winters telling global reporters that, “It’s not cost-cutting. It’s replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we’re putting in.”
In a global statement put out on Tuesday in connection with its investor event, it reiterated the restructuring plans noting that it aims to “drive productivity improvements to raise income per employee by ~20 per cent by 2028, aided by a reduction in corporate functions roles of >15 per cent by 2030.” The global bank also said it will deliver a >15 per cent RoTE in 2028, a more than 3 percentage point uplift from 2025, and building to ~18 per cent in 2030.
In a recent interaction with businessline, Judy Hsu, CEO, Wealth and Retail Banking, Standard Chartered, also indicated that the bank is undertaking a strategic redrawing of its retail banking strategy in India to focus more on establishing multi-product relationships with affluent clients with needs for cross-border financial activity, rather than the mass retail segment.