Standard Chartered reported a fall in pre-tax profit for the first quarter of this year - the final figures for the bank under CEO Peter Sands, who is stepping down.

Standard Chartered, the UK-listed bank that earns the lion’s share of its revenues in regions such as Asia and Africa, said pre-tax profit in the first three months of 2015 fell 22 per cent year-on-year to $1.467 billion.

The figure was below what analysts had forecast, according to Bloomberg. The results are the final set of figures to be issued by the bank under chief executive Peter Sands, who is stepping down. He will be succeeded by Bill Winters, a former co-head of JP Morgan’s investment bank. Last year, Standard Chartered’s share price was hit amid a run of disappointing earnings figures, prompting speculation about Sands’ future.

Shares in Standard Chartered were up 2.24 per cent early this afternoon. Since management at the bank was changed in late February, shares have risen by around 14 per cent.

In its private banking segment, the firm said first-quarter operating income fell 4 per cent year-on-year to $152 million; it was up slightly on a continuing operation basis but had been affected by the exit of its operations from Geneva.

In terms of product offerings, wealth management operating income rose 21 per cent to $456 million, the bank said, arguing that it continued to benefit from the renewal of its Prudential Bancassurance partnership in the second half of last year.