LONDON-- Standard Chartered PLC said bad loans jumped by 80% and pretax profit dived 22% in the first quarter, underscoring the challenge for incoming Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters to restructure the bank and improve returns.

In a brief trading update, the bank said bad loans rose to $476 million in the first three months, from $265 million in first-quarter 2014. It said the quarterly figure marked a drop on the previous two quarters, although loan impairment from corporate and institutional clients "remains elevated."

Pretax profit dropped to $1.47 billion from $1.88 billion. The bank didn't report net figures.

After strong growth for a decade in key markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and India, Standard Chartered has faltered in the past two years as tougher regulation and a weakened global economy hit its earnings. Many of the bank's senior executives departed, and Mr. Winters was hired in February to replace long-serving CEO Peter Sands when he steps down in June.

Mr. Sands on Tuesday said the bank is on track to meet earlier pledges to raise its regulatory capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, to between 11% and 12% this year, and to trim more than $400 million from its costs.

Standard Chartered, while based in London, makes most of its revenue in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It, along with one of its largest rivals, HSBC Holdings PLC, is contemplating relocating to Asia to lower its tax bill. A Standard Chartered spokesman said last week that "we are listening very carefully to our shareholders views on this issue."

Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com

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