With a notable income growth driven by a very strong performance in wholesale banking, partly offset by lower income in consumer banking, the Indian operations of Standard Chartered Bank a reported a 19 per cent increase in operating profit to $ 1.06 billion (Rs 4,886 crore at today’s rate) for 2009, compared to the previous year
Excluding proceeds from the sale of the bank’s mutual fund recognised in the 2008 results, the growth in operating profit was 42 per cent.
Wholesale banking recorded a 49 per cent increase in operating profit to $ 1.06 billion (Rs 4,867 crore) from $ 674 million in 2008.
However, consumer banking saw a 24 per cent drop in operating profit to $ 54 million (Rs 248.4 crore) from $ 71 million in the previous year.
Impairments, which were mostly on the consumer banking side, grew 16 per cent to $ 182 million (Rs 837.2 crore).
Neeraj Swaroop, Regional Chief Executive, India and South Asia, said, “We have seen some increase in impairments in 2009 due to adverse global market conditions but we have not stopped lending and our credit growth is 10 per cent till December-end. We expect to achieve 10-20 per cent growth in 2010,”.
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The bank’s net non-performing assets stood at 1.9 per cent, while gross NPAs stood at 2.9 per cent as on December 31, 2009.
Swaroop also said the bank has sought the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to open more branches, and said it would install 100 automated teller machines in 2010. “The bank is also looking to hire over 2,500 people this year.”
The lender has performed much better than its other UK-based counterparts RBS and HSBC. HSBC India reported a 44 per cent drop in net profit for the year ended December 31, 2009, to $374 million (Rs 1,720 crore) from $666 million a year earlier.
RBS, however, did not disclose the profit figures for its Indian operations, but the bank has slashed its Indian asset book by more than a third.