Standard Chartered cutting more than 100 UAE jobs

Standard Chartered is cutting more than one hundred jobs in the United Arab Emirates, the latest effort by the lender to shrink costs globally.

The reductions will center on the lender’s retail and global banking division, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The bank employs about 1,700 people in the UAE.

A spokesman for the bank confirmed that a number of roles are being made redundant. The bank will pay them the equivalent of their salary until the end of year in addition to their severance pay, according to the spokesman.

The UAE is the biggest market of Standard Chartered’s Middle East and Africa business. The region suffered a difficult first six months of 2020, as profits plummeted by 80 per cent after a slump in oil prices.

The cuts come shortly after Standard Chartered’s private bank eliminated positions in Dubai and London. Other international banks, including Nomura Holdings and Credit Suisse Group, have also been reducing their Dubai presence.

The London-headquartered firm started a fresh round of job cuts at the end of July after pausing the process during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Asia-focused lender employs about 85,000 people across its corporate and institutional businesses as well as retail, commercial and private banking units in 60 countries.

Chief executive officer Bill Winters, under pressure from investors to improve returns and boost the bank’s share price, has already shrunk middle management and spent billions to improve technology.