Shares in Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) ticked higher Friday as it emerged the troubled bank was planning to slash up to a quarter of its senior staff - underlining the scale of its cost cutting drive.
The move, reportedly outlined in a staff memo, could see the loss of 1,000 jobs over the next four months at the emerging- markets focused bank.
Standard has been hit by a double whammy of fears over a slowdown in emerging markets and the slide in commodity prices.
The bank has also had to deal with US regulatory fines and rows with senior investors.
Today, a spokesman said Bill Winters, who took the reins as chief executive only in June this year, said he (Winters) "had made it clear that kick-starting performance is a priority".
Reportedly, a quarter of managers ranked in grades one to four would be told they would be losing their jobs by the end of November.
The memo added the group would sell assets and leave underperforming areas of business.
In August, Standard reported lower profits in the six months to June and said the disappointing earnings had lead to a dividend cut by a half - to 14.4 US cents a share.
Today, shares in London added 5.2% to 787.6p. They have added around 25% since the end of September, but began the year at around 962p