Standard Chartered to axe cash equities business

The Asia-focused lender said the move would help it save some $100m (£66.2m) in 2016, the BBC reports. It also said it plans to shed another 2,000 positions in its retail banking division, on top of the 2,000 already announced. The bank issued three profit warnings last year. It posted a 16% fall in operating profit in October last year due to a restructuring of its South Korean business and an increase in bad loans. The bank's Hong Kong-listed shares were up more than 2% on Thursday as investors welcomed the cost-cutting news. Standard Chartered told its investors in Novembe...