Standard Chartered sees regulation as the key external threat facing the bank, as it announced a 19 per cent increase in operating profits for 2010. Profits rose to $6.12 billion, as earnings per share grew 14 per cent. “This isn't a bounce back or a recovery story.. ¦this is another year of delivering on growth,” said the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Peter Sands.
Acknowledging risks, including West Asia troubles, Mr Sands said besides more capital, a quantum increase in regulation and an “increasing lack of coordination” could lead to unintended consequences.
While operating profits in India rose 13 per cent, other areas too delivered growth, including Africa, where profits grew 16 per cent and South Korea (20 per cent).
The Indian business could not rest on its laurels, Mr Sands joked on a conference call, given the potential of China and Hong Kong, and the latter's growth as former's international financial centre. Demand for services in RMB, for example, would present significant opportunities in the future in Hong Kong. Singapore, where profits grew by just a percentage, was also not a market to be underestimated, given its role as the hub of the bank’s growing private banking business, said Mr Sands.
Mr Sands said the bank had increased investment in consumer and wholesale banking businesses, where profits grew 51 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, while bad loan charges more than halved