Standard Chartered to double down on wealth management after tripling profit

Standard Chartered has announced plans to double its investment in its wealth management division, following a third-quarter profit that exceeded expectations and enhanced plans for shareholder returns.

The FTSE 100 lender, which primarily operates in emerging markets, posted a pretax profit of $1.72bn (£1.3bn) from July to September, surpassing analysts' predictions of $1.49bn (£1.1bn), as reported by City AM.

This profit is almost triple the $633m (£487m) reported during the same period last year when the bank incurred nearly $1bn (£800m) in impairment charges due to its exposure to China's sluggish economy. As it continues with a cost-cutting plan announced in February, Standard Chartered has increased key performance targets.

The bank anticipates its income will grow towards 10 per cent by 2024, up from a previous estimate of above seven per cent. It now aims t