Standard Chartered reported fourth-quarter underlying pretax profit of $1.24 billion, missing analyst estimates of $1.38 billion as weaker trading income and higher costs weighed on performance. The Asia-focused lender's operating income remained flat at $4.85 billion, with growth in wealth solutions and global banking offset by softer episodic trading income in markets.

Net interest income fell 1% year-on-year to $2.95 billion, reflecting margin pressure from lower rates, while operating expenses increased 5% to $3.43 billion due to continued investment and transformation spending. Credit impairment charges rose to $145 million from $130 million a year earlier, mainly from retail provisions. For the full year, underlying pretax profit rose 18% to $7.9 billion, with return on tangible equity improving to 14.7% from 11.7%.

The lender proposed a final dividend of 49 cents per share, taking the full-year payout to 61 cents, up 65% from the prior year, alongside a new $1.5 billion share buyback. CEO Bill Winters said the bank continued to benefit from structural growth trends across its Asia, Africa, and Middle East footprint and had made a solid start to 2026 despite the quarterly miss.