Domiciled in the United Kingdom, Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN) has extensive geographic reach. The company provides consumer and wholesale banking products to customers throughout the emerging markets (especially in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East); approximately a third of the company’s deposits are located in Greater China. Falling commodity prices, concerns about asset quality, regulatory fines, and increasing capital requirements in the United Kingdom weighed on the company’s share price, and its valuation fell to 0.8 times book value in October, a historically low level.
Standard Chartered has been held in the Fund since 2008. Over the years, we have spent considerable time researching and analyzing the company in various market environments. Standard Chartered’s broad network across the developing world would be very difficult to replicate today. The company’s global payments and trade business is a particular strength: local roots from its longstanding presence allow for local currency funding, and cooperation across the network provides integrated wholesale banking services to clients. The bank is exposed to economic growth and increasing trade flows in emerging markets.
We acknowledge the current risks and believe that Standard Chartered’s inexpensive valuation, coupled with its long-term growth opportunities, makes it an attractive investment. We substantially increased the Fund’s exposure to Standard Chartered during 2014. On December 31, Standard Chartered was a 1.7% position in the Fund.
From Dodge & Cox’s Global Stock Fund Q4 2014 Shareholder Letter.
