Standard Chartered's emerging-market risks return to focus as Shore Capital keeps Sell rating

What Brokers Say Finance Written by: Ian Lyall 08:03 Wed 23 Sep 2026 --> Edited by: Jamie Ashcroft Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Standard Chartered PLC ( LSE:STAN ) View Price & Profile Standard Chartered’s emerging-market risks return to focus as Shore Capital keeps Sell rating Published: 08:03 23 Sep 2026 EDT Shore Capital has maintained its 'sell' recommendation on Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) , arguing that a recent investigation into sanctions-linked payment flows highlights risks that are not fully reflected in the bank’s valuation. The broker kept its 1,765p price target against a current share price of 2,319p, implying 24% downside, while analyst Gary Greenwood said the issue did not materially change the near-term investment case. The report follows a Financial Times investigation into A7, a Russian payments platform alleged to have moved more than $6.9 billion through the international financial system using front companies, forged invoices and falsified trade documents. Leaked records reportedly showed that about $1.1 billion of payments from A7-linked entities passed through accounts operated by Standard Chartered in Hong Kong between late 2024 and August 2025. Standard Chartered’s internal monitoring reportedly identified suspicious activity in February 2025, after which the bank placed holds on some payments and closed affected accounts. Shore Capital said there were no allegations that Standard Chartered knowingly facilitated sanctions evasion and no indication at this stage of regulatory enforcement, financial penalties or control failures. The broker argued that the episode instead highlights the additional sanctions, financial crime and compliance risks created by Standard Chartered’s focus on cross-border trade and capital flows across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Kyrgyzstan, all highlighted in the investigation, are markets where Standard Chartered has an established presence, increasing the relevance of those risks to its business model. Shore Capital said its sell call is driven primarily by valuation rather than concerns over Standard Chartered’s strategy, franchise quality or current financial performance. The bank forecasts pre-tax profit of $7.96 billion for 2026, rising to $9.85 billion by 2028, with return on tangible equity expected to increase from 14% to 15.3% over the period. Continue reading