In-Depth SWOT Analysis of Standard Chartered – A British Multinational Bank

Quick Stats on Standard Chartered

Founder	James Wilson
Year Founded	1969
Origin	London, England, UK
No. of Employees	85,000+
Company Type	Public
Market Cap	US$15.329 Billion (2022)
Annual Revenue	US$ 14.701 Billion (2021)
Net Income/ Profit	US$2.313 Billion (2021)

 

Products & Services by Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered has been operating in the banking industry for more than 100 years. The product and services offered by Standard Chartered are as follows –

• Credit cards
• Consumer banking
• Corporate banking
• Investment banking
• Mortgage loans
• Private banking
• Wealth management

Competitors of Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered competes on a global level with many other banking companies. The top 5 competitors of Standard Chartered are

• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Bank of America
• HSBC
• Aetna
• Deutsche Bank

Now that we understand the company’s core business, let’s delve into the SWOT analysis of Standard Chartered.

SWOT Analysis of Standard Chartered

A SWOT analysis determines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company. It is a proven management paradigm that allows Standard Chartered to benchmark its business and performance against that of its competitors and the industry as a whole.

This is a great tool for identifying where the business is doing well, where it is failing, developing countermeasures, and determining how the business can grow.

To better understand the SWOT Analysis of Standard Chartered, refer to the infographics image below

Now first let’s begin with the strengths of the company from the SWOT analysis of Standard Chartered.

Strengths of Standard Chartered

Strengths are an integral part of the company that distinguishes the company from its competitors. Standard Chartered has many strengths that enable it to prosper in the market over the years. The strengths of Standard Chartered are as follows

• One of the Oldest: Standard Chartered is one of the oldest and largest banks globally which makes it a trustworthy and valuable group. It is one of the largest trade finance banks in the world and is ranked #83 in Forbes’s top multinational performer.
• Reputable Bank: Strong brand presence, high-quality services, and sound financial capability have helped standard chartered to create a reputable brand image.
• Bank’s Philosophy: The standard chartered bank’s philosophy is based on the following three value behaviours which are “never settle”, “ do the right things’ ‘ and “better together”.
• Assets of the Bank: It has a total asset of $789 billion at the end of the final year 2020 and this shows that Standard chartered bank is a financially stable bank. 
• Extensive Network: The bank has more than 87,000 employees with a global presence of 70+ countries and a very wide range of banking and financial services.
• Social Responsibility: The bank releases several programs every year in which it focuses on providing education, summer internship and study seminars in various countries. The bank had also empowered women through training in sports thus nurturing sustainable development and fulfilling social responsibility.
• Digital Transformation: Standard Chartered, according to their client needs, has transformed their work into a digital path and they are one of the top 10 banks in Britain which has always been at the forefront of digital transformation.

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• Automation of Activities: Successful automation of banking activities with a well-developed IT structure and Infrastructure has made the overall efficiency better.    
• Strong Digital Marketing Strategy: With a very strong online presence on every social media site has built a strong customer relationship. Want to know how social media works as a strength for the Standard Chartered? Then you must check out the benefits of social media marketing to get the answer to your query. 

Weaknesses of Standard Chartered

A company’s weaknesses keep it from realising its greatest potential. To assist the company to excel in all areas, one should assess the weaknesses and seek to improve them.

• Dependence on Asian Market: Standard Chartered is dependent on the Asian market for its earnings which consists of almost 27% of the revenue from Southeast and South Asian markets. Through digitalization, banks like DBS from Singapore are already capturing the market thus increasing tough competition. Standard Chartered bank has to integrate strategic intimidate to stay competitive if in future also the bank wants to depend on the Asian market.
• Need to Invest More in New Technologies: According to the country’s scale of expansion and the geographical areas Standard Chartered needs to invest more funds in technology to coordinate the processes across the board. Currently, the investment in technology is not on par with the vision of the company.
• Involvement in Controversies: Standard Chartered has been involved in numerous scandals, frauds and controversies such as the 2012 breach of sanctions fines, money laundering in 2019 etc. affecting the reliability of the company. Customers may find it a little difficult to trust a company involved in controversies. 
• Low Market Share: Although the company has a significant presence worldwide somehow the bank has less market share as compared to other multinational banks. ATMs provided by banks are also less because customers often complain that the ATMs are less than other banks.
• Customer Service: Given it is the largest healthcare company it is only natural to have so many customers and in some areas, the company fails to provide customer satisfaction.

Opportunities for Standard Chartered 

Opportunities are uncontrollable external circumstances that a person may be able to take advantage of. These external factors could give the company an advantage in the marketplace. Opportunities for Standard Chartered are:

• Finding Opportunities in Underdeveloped Countries: The bank has worked rapidly in developing underdeveloped countries like India, Africa and middle east local markets to find opportunities for growth and help businesses achieve their financial products.
• Use of Emerging Markets: The bank generates 80% of its profit from emerging markets. It provides special financial services and products by understanding the demand in the market.
• Continue Collaborations: The bank should continue social collaborations with other firms to present a good brand image in the market. Recently, Standard Chartered collaborated with Sightsavers to bring down the prevalence of blindness in remote areas of West Bengal like Sundarbans. 
• Development of Technology: Since the FinTech industry is growing at a very rapid pace, there are advancements in technologies too such as AI, cloud IOT brings technology-driven productivity. Using these kinds of technologies can increase efficiency and decrease cost.
• Expansion to Other Global Markets: The bank is planning to expand to more developing countries as well as Chinese nations too. This serves them as an opportunity to acquire a new customer base.

Threats to Standard Chartered

Threats are external elements that may have an impact on the bank. To avoid inflicting damage to the company, these concerns should be addressed as quickly as feasible. The threats to Standard Chartered are as follows:

• Financial Risks: Because the company operates in several countries, it is subjected to currency fluctuations, which are exacerbated by the world’s increasingly volatile political climate in a variety of industries.
• A shortfall of Skilled Employees: The lack of skilled staff in particular global markets poses a risk to Standard Chartered’s long-term benefit growth in such industries.
• Increased Marketing Efforts: Due to the shifting focus towards digital marketing, there is an increasing number of promotional messages which are being sent by competitors. It clutters up the space, which results in losing out on customers. You must also be knowledgeable with a variety of digital marketing skills to keep up with the competition.
• Cyber Security: It’s been one of the major risk factors in the financial sector. It is a must for financial systems to have the ability to withstand this cyber-attack by increasing IT  monitoring and control.
• Regulatory Reforms of Various Countries: Due to increased regulatory scrutiny and restriction in new policies the bank has to operate in a highly appropriate manner which is affecting its growth.

Now that we have come to the end of this thorough SWOT Analysis of Standard Chartered. Let’s see the summation of this article in the conclusion.