StandChart climbs on buyback report
Standard Chartered
666.80p
16:40 19/04/24
Standard Chartered was the standout gainer in London on Thursday following a report that the bank is drawing up planning a rare share buy-back.
Banks
3,895.51
17:09 19/04/24
FTSE 100
7,895.85
16:59 19/04/24
FTSE 350
4,341.08
17:09 19/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,296.41
17:08 19/04/24
The Financial Times said StanChart could announce a buy-back alongside full-year results in late February, depending on the size of any fines doled out by US authorities over breaches of Iran sanctions.
Based on forecast of around £3.1bn or 95p per share of surplus capital, analysts see a buyback of at least £1bn not posing a problem.
Speculation has suggested an Iran fine could be around $1.5bn.
At the FTSE 100 company's recent third-quarter results, management would not be drawn on the possibility of returning the surplus to shareholders as they want to operate enough headroom to ride out current uncertainty around macroeconomic and regulatory conditions.