Standard Chartered names Bill Winters as new chief executive

He will replace Peter Sands as part of a dramatic leadership shake-up

Speculation has been rife that Sands was on his way out of the bank, after a run of poor performance led shareholders to call for a change at the top (AP)

Peter Sands is to leave troubled emerging markets bank Standard Chartered as part of a dramatic leadership shake-up following months of discontent from its biggest shareholders.

Sands, who has been chief executive for eight years and overseen a succession of profit warnings, will be replaced by Bill Winters, a former JPMorgan banker with a high reputation in the industry.

Winters’ base salary will be £1.15 million plus perks and the 53-year-old will be able to quadruple that to more than £4.5 million with bonuses and allowances.

Sir John Peace, chairman of Standard Chartered who confirmed that he will also stand down in 2016, said: "Bill is world-class banker with a great reputation with regulators and clients."

He refused to discuss the clamour for change at the top from shareholders. He said: "It is very important to consult with shareholders but, ultimately, decisions like this are up to the board."

Winters’ arrival was welcomed by some of Standard Chartered’s biggest shareholders.

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, which has a 17.7 per cent stake, said Winters had "an excellent reputation for building good teams".

Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen Asset Management, which holds 7 per cent, said: "He is a great choice for a great bank."

But Standard Chartered shares rose just 1 per cent, or 9.7p, to 936p on the news with investors concerned that next week’s full year results might be worse than expected — or even that the bank could launch a rights issue.

Peace said people "will have to wait until then".

The boardroom shake-up will also see the departure of Jaspal Bindra, the bank’s long-standing chief executive of its biggest geographical area Asia, after 16 years.

The bank’s three longest-standing non-executive directors are also quitting. Ruth Markland, Paul Skinner and Oliver Stocken, who have all been on the board for more than decade, will leave this year.

Peace, who was paid $1.8 million last year, said Sands had overseen Standard Chartered since 2006, seeing it through the financial crisis and "doubling it in size by virtually every measure".

Sands said: "The last eight years have been exciting and challenging and the last couple of years were tougher."