Standard considers replacing advisers

The Asia-focused bank, which is battling to turn around its business after a trio of profit warnings and a slump in its share price this year, has engaged UBS and JPMorgan as its corporate brokers for several years.

“We can confirm we’re conducting a review of our corporate broking relationships. The review will include our current brokers, and we will make an announcement in due course,” said a spokesman for Standard Chartered.

UBS and JPMorgan declined to comment. Sources at other banks said other firms had pitched for the business.

Standard Chartered is heading for a second successive fall in annual profits this year, halting a decade of record earnings. Its shares are down 31 per cent this year.

Corporate brokers act as a link between a listed company and its investors. Chiefly a British business relationship, it can be a way into more lucrative advisory business, such as fundraising and mergers and acquisitions.

Bankers say several factors can prompt a company to review long-established relationships, including disappointment with advice or changes in personnel at the top of the listed company or within broking teams.