The London-based bank said on Tuesday that it intends to reduce jobs in corporate functions by more than 15 percent by 2030 and expand the practical use of AI to make processes more efficient. At the end of last year, the bank employed 52,271 staff in back-office functions.

«This is not about cost-cutting; in some cases, we are replacing lower-value human capital with financial and investment capital that we are deploying,» CEO Bill Winters said at a press conference in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg. He added that affected employees would be informed early and transparently.

Standard Chartered is thus following the trend among other global banks that are focusing on technological efficiency gains. HSBC Holdings is considering deep job cuts in the coming years, while Wall Street banks are pursuing similar strategies.

Human Assembly Line

Goldman Sachs Group President and COO John Waldron recently described the company’s traditional operations as a «human assembly line» that could be readily automated.

Winters and his management team presented the bank’s medium-term financial framework, growth initiatives and strategic priorities at a meeting with investors and analysts in Hong Kong.

New Return Targets

In addition to the AI-driven restructuring and a recent reorganisation of senior management, the bank unveiled new return targets. Standard Chartered aims to improve its return on equity by three percentage points, targeting more than 15 percent in 2028 and around 18 percent in 2030. The cost-to-income ratio is also expected to improve to 57 percent by 2028.

According to the bank, the job cuts are intended to boost productivity, so that revenue per employee rises by around 20 percent by 2028. Corporate functions include support roles such as risk management and regulatory compliance.

«We are not eliminating jobs, but we are reducing areas of responsibility in favour of machines — and this will accelerate further as AI continues to advance,» Winters said.

Record Profit

The bank recently reported record earnings that significantly exceeded analysts’ expectations. This was supported by record net inflows of 18 billion dollar into its wealth management business.

The resulting revenues enabled the bank to absorb provisions amounting to 190 million dollar that were set aside due to risks stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.