StanChart profit rises 19% as wealth management offsets lower rates and rising bad loans

Standard Chartered’s first-quarter profit rose 19 per cent as it achieved strong wealth-management performance, which was offset by lower interest rates and rising bad debt provisions.
Net profit rose 19 per cent year on year in the first three months of 2026 to US$1.9 billion, or 74.2 US cents per share, from US$1.59 billion a year earlier, the bank said on Thursday.
The result was better than analysts’ estimates of US$1.33 billion.
The bank’s pre-tax profit rose 17 per cent to a record US$2.5...