Private Banking Income Rose At Standard Chartered In 2012

Tom Burroughes

15 July 2013

Standard Chartered, the UK-listed bank which earns the bulk of its revenues in Asia and other emerging regions such as India, reported group income across all divisions of $19.07 billion in 2012, an 8 per cent year-on-year rise and the 10^th straight year of income, profit and dividend growth.

Pre-tax profits rose by 8 per cent from 2011 to 2012 to $7.202 billion, the bank said in a statement today.

Private banking income rose by 12 per cent with around 4,000 new client accounts. The firm, which at the time of this publication’s press deadline gave few other details about its private bank, said the “high value segments” of the firm accounted for 46 per cent of group consumer banking income and 57 per cent of consumer banking income growth last year.

The firm suffered a blow to its image when, late last year, it was fined a total of $667 million by US regulators for breaching sanctions regarding Iran and some other nations. Other banks, such as HSBC, have also fallen foul of such regulations, sharpening the spotlight on risks and compliance issues.

The bank said new regulations including tougher liquidity and capital rules and a UK bank tax were costing it "well north" of $500 million a year, according to a subsequent report on the results by Reuters.

StanChart has also reportedly voiced fears over a European Union proposal to cap bankers' bonuses at double their salary. “We are concerned about it because we are a global bank and 97 percent of our staff are outside the EU and we're concerned about our ability to be competitive in attracting and retaining talent," chief executive Peter Sands was reported to have said. He added it was “too early” to draw conclusions on how the bank might react.

In its results statement, the bank said: “The bank is increasingly generating income through more effective use of its network as trade grows strongly across our markets: in 2012 over 50 per cent of client income in wholesale banking was generated outside of the home market country of our clients. In addition, consumer banking is benefiting from a fast-growing middle class as these economies expand.”

“Standard Chartered remains a growth story and we are sticking to our strategy, focusing on the basics of good banking, in markets we know well,” Sir John Peace, chairman of Standard Chartered said.