Shares in Standard Chartered (STAN.LON, 2888.HKG) closed the day down roughly 1% after British media reported shareholders had demanded a succession plan for chief executive Peter Sands by year’s end and a headhunter had been hired to find a replacement, South China Morning Post reported. A spokeswoman for the bank in Hong Kong said it was not making any announcements at present and that Sands had the full support of the board in carrying out a strategy to bring the bank back to profit growth after it stunned investors in August with a 20% tumble in first half pre-tax profits.