Standard Chartered has published its Q1 2026 earnings, in which the bank saw 9% growth in its quarterly operating income to $5.9bn. As part of this, it continued to see growth in its Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) arm, which contains the majority of its cross-border revenue.
This quarter was the first time Standard Chartered has presented its results on a “reported” basis rather than showing underlying financials. The bank said in its FY and Q4 25 results that it was making this change to provide more focus on a “single set of financial outcomes” and provide a “clearer and more consistent framework” for guidance.
In Q1 2026, Standard Chartered’s CIB division saw 7% growth YoY to $3.6bn, accounting for 60% of the bank’s overall operating income. Cross-border income (which the bank refers to as network income) also took a slightly higher share of CIB income at 66.8% during the quarter, versus 65.3% in Q1 2025.
The key driver for CIB was Global Banking, which saw income rise by 21% YoY on the back of 58% growth in the bank’s Capital Markets & Advisory segment and 14% growth in Lending & Financial Solutions.
Meanwhile, Transaction Services – which has traditionally accounted for the majority of cross-border volumes – declined by 1% to $1.5bn in Q1. Within this, Payments and Liquidity services declined by 2%, with Trade & Working Capital falling by 5%, offsetting 17% growth in Securities & Prime Services.
Global Markets income remained flat YoY, though the bank noted that flow income (generated by day-to-day trading) rose by 17% to $911m. During the earnings call, Group Chief Executive Bill Winters said that the company had seen increased client activity across rates and FX products, where the bank also benefitted from continued investments in electronic platforms and people.
Winters also mentioned that despite conflict in the Middle East, overall flow income has remained “consistent” throughout the quarter, though volatility in the market has increased the opportunity for the bank to capture these flows.
As a result of different growth patterns across the division, Transaction Services accounted for 43% of CIB income, lower than 54% the previous quarter and 46% in Q1 2025. However, it remains the largest segment versus Global Banking (19%), Global Markets (34%) and Treasury & Other (5%).
