Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters buys another £1m in bank’s shares
Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters is putting his money where his mouth is – by buying another £1m worth of his shares in his struggling company.
Winters, a former JP Morgan investment banker who took over from the Asia-facing bank's previous chief executive Peter Sands in June, acquired 168,000 shares at 599 pence each, increasing the number of shares he owns to 229,035, according to a statement from Standard Chartered on Friday.
Winters is expected to spend another £300,000 buying even more shares in the company's previously-announced rights offering.
Winters announced earlier this month that he planned to axe 15,000 jobs and raise $5.1bn (£3.3bn) in capital, as the bank posted an operating loss of $139m in the third quarter. Revenue had slumped 18 percent year-on-year, the fifth successive quarter of falling revenue for the bank.
Winters also said earlier this month that he was scrapping this year’s dividend, describing the radical restructuring and cost-cutting efforts as an "aggressive and decisive set of actions" to help stabilise the bank.
On Friday, Winters said the revamp offered a good investment opportunity for him and others, saying: "Last week we outlined our strategy to create a lean, focused and strongly capitalised bank that is positioned for long-term and sustainable growth. For me personally, I think this is a great investment and further aligns me with our shareholders."
Standard Chartered chairman John Peace also bought more shares in the company, with an investment just under £300,000, while four other executives also purchased shares.
A Standard Chartered spokesperson said: "These share purchases by a number of our senior directors and management team reflects their belief in the new strategy and the opportunities for our business, given the long term growth prospects in many of our markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East."