Income for the year 2011 grew 10% to $17.64bn and operating profit jumped solidly by 11% to $6.78bn.
During the year, customer deposits grew by 11% to $352bn and lending to customers by 9% to $269bn. Staff numbers were up by 1,600 over the year to nearly 87,000.
Consumer banking income climbed 12% to $6.76bn and profit grew 26% to $1.65bn. The business benefited from selective growth in unsecured assets, improving deposit margins and the impact of the investments made in 2010, the bank reports.
Staff numbers in Consumer Banking were up by over 1,200, mainly in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Africa. The Bank opened 35 new branches in 2011, including 19 in China.
Usefully, Standard Chartered has no direct sovereign exposure to Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal or Spain, whilst operating in a diverse range of 70 markets. Operating pre-tax profits in Hong Kong rose 41% to $1.55bn and in Singapore by 40% to $1bn.
Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered said, ‘Our capital and funding strength allows us to remain open for business and win more market share. We see huge opportunities in our core markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, both within individual markets, and in facilitating the explosive growth of trade and investment flows within the emerging world.’
He added, ‘In our biggest market in the Middle East, the UAE, we are seeing a return of confidence, with hotel bookings, airport arrivals and container traffic all up strongly.’
