Standard Chartered may claw back bonuses after first annual loss since 1989

Standard Chartered may claw back bonuses from up to 150 senior staff after reporting its first annual loss since 1989; CEO Bill Winters added that the executive directors would not be penalised as they have already had their bonuses withdrawn for this year. He also revealed that reviews into whether individuals breach compliance or risk-related rules that led to the bank's underperformance could lead to further clawbacks of bonuses paid out in the past. The surprise annual loss shows the scale of the task facing Mr Winters as he tries to restore revenue growth and repair the bank's balance sheet riddled with bad loans made under previous CEO Peter Sands' expansion-oriented strategy.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Standard Chartered scrapped all annual bonuses for its bosses and made no long-term awards to former chiefs under previous bonus schemes as its profits plunged by 84 per cent.

The emerging market-focused bank also said it might claw back bonuses from current and former senior staff if they turned out to have been responsible for “clear-cut cases of malfeasance” or “gross negligence”, such as knowingly overstating earnings.

New chief executive Bill Winters said: “The challenging external environment is not an excuse for our performance. We are not unwitting victims. Rather, the external challenges increase our urgent need to take all necessary steps to address the structural and operational issues we have identified as critical to improving returns.”

Recommended Read more LSE and Deutsche Börse begin merger talks for a third time

The bank saw its pre-tax profits drop from £5.2bn to just £834m as its revenues fell 15 per cent to £15.4bn. The biggest hit to profits was an 87 per cent rise in bad debt writedowns to £4bn.

Winters said: “While 2015 performance was poor, the actions we took on capital throughout last year and in particular in December have positioned us strongly for the current macro environment. We have a balance sheet that is resilient and we are in the right markets. We have identified our risk issues, and are dealing with them assertively.”

He said that more than 100 senior people had decided not to take annual cash bonuses this year, and that the money saved had been used “to protect more junior staff”.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 / 13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

The bank cut 7,000 posts last year as part of its plan to reduce numbers by 15,000.

Previous management, including former chief Peter Sands and former finance director Richard Meddings, will collect nothing on long-term share awards made in 2013, as none of their performance targets had been hit.

“Exactly the same will happen to Andy [Halford, finance director] and me if we don’t hit the 2018 targets set for us today,” Winters said.

The annual report showed that Winters, who arrived in the summer, was paid £2.34m last year, and given share awards worth up to £8.4m, while Halford received £2m in pay and up to £5m in share awards.

Even this much-reduced profit was less than analysts had expected, and Standard Chartered shares fell 6.73 per cent, or 29.35p, to 406.95p. There is no dividend.