Lang v Buxton: Buy, sell or hold Standard Chartered?

Standard Chartered's reputation and shares were dealt a hammer blow last week as the New York state regulator claimed the British bank had hidden $250bn of trades with Iran, putting its US banking licence at risk.

In response, Standard Chartered CEO Peter Sands said the bank “strongly rejects the portrayal of facts” and claimed only $14m of trades broke US sanctions. The bank is expected to come before the US authorities this week to dispute the charges. The explosive news sent the bank’s shares into freefall. By last Tuesday it was trading 30% lower at £11.24, but the following day it had rallied 17% as investors topped up their stakes on price weakness. Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers reported a 764% jump in interest in Standard Chartered shares as investors rushed to trade the stock. But so...