Standard Chartered to axe cash equities business

Standard Chartered has said it will shut its equities business and axe jobs as it continues in its attempts to cut costs in order to boost its bottom line.

The Asia-focused lender said the move would help it save some $100m (£66.2m) in 2016, the BBC reports. It also said it plans to shed another 2,000 positions in its retail banking division, on top of the 2,000 already announced. The bank issued several profit warnings last year as it grappled with falling revenues. It posted a 16% fall in operating profit in October last year due to a restructuring of its South Korean business and an increase in bad loans. The bank's Hong Kong-listed shares closed 2.9% higher this morning as investors welcomed the cost-cutting plan, though UK-lis...