Earlier, we had explored a complete SWOT analysis of Metlife also known as the house of insurance. This time, we are going to explore the SWOT analysis of Standard Chartered – one of Britain’s leading banking and financial service providers.
Standard Chartered is the universal bank that operates in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. The bank consumes around 90% of its profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East and it is growing exponentially without any doubt.
Over the years, despite technical innovation and development, they managed to keep their position in the market and give strong competition to others only because of a strong marketing strategy. In this modern era, technology and marketing go hand in hand. If you are interested in learning about marketing – check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.
The blog will mainly focus on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats surrounding Standard Chartered. But before that, let us take a look at the company, its history, products, services and financial success.
About Standard Chartered,
Standard Chartered Bank is one of the oldest banks in the history of international banks. The name “standard” derived from the two original banks from which it was founded – “Chartered Bank” of India, Australia, China, and “Standard Bank” of British South Africa.’
Standard chartered bank is a British financial service and multinational banking company and its headquarter is located in London. With more than 1,200+ branches and outlets across more than 70 countries, the bank is the largest in terms of worldwide foothold. The bank employs around 87,000 people following a friendly culture among its people.
The bank gene dates back to 1853 but the name Standard Chartered was constituted in 1969. It is listed on the London stock exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index and the bank is also the main sponsor of Liverpool football club.
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.
To Conclude
Standard Chartered is growing in the sector of banking in Britain, India, as well as the global market too. As we had a look at the SWOT Analysis of Standard Chartered, there is a lot more to grow in many aspects.
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We hope this blog on the SWOT Analysis of Standard Chartered has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can also read our comprehensive study on the SWOT Analysis of JP Morgan Chase.
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