STANCHART PROFITABILITY RISE BY 19% TO US$6.12BN

Standard Chartered Bank group recorded 19 per cent growth in profitability which rose to $6.12 billion in the operating year ended December 2010.

Income for the year also rose by six per cent to a record US$16.06 billion. This result represents the eighth successive year of record income and profit for the Bank.

This has been a strong year for the Group, with good growth in volumes as we take market share from our competitors,' said Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered

We have continued our planned investment in the businesses to position us well for the long-term opportunities across our markets, whilst delivering our eighth year of record profit and income. We continue to see strong momentum in both businesses, and the Group has a seen a record start to 2011,' he said in a statement issued by the Bank.

The Bank said, 'We continue to invest selectively in the business, positioning us well to take advantage of the long-term growth opportunities across our markets, whilst maintaining a strong focus on the fundamentals of the bank. Normalised earnings per share increased 14 per cent and dividend per share was up 9 per cent, with RoE at 14.1 per cent, as the Group continues to deliver long-term value for shareholders.

2010 delivered strong and diversified profit and income growth across our markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 23 markets delivered over US$100m of income, with 11 contributing over US$500m. 15 markets delivered over US$100m of profit, with India and Hong Kong both delivering over US$1bn. We continue to be in the right parts of the world, with strong long-term growth opportunities.

Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking saw business activity in a number of products grow strongly over the year, as we took market share from our competitors across our markets.

Wholesale Banking saw income climb by seven per cent to just under US$10bn, with profit up 17 per cent at US$4,770m. Wholesale Banking has now achieved double-digit profit growth every year since 2002. Client income grew 17 per cent on the back of growing trade and investment flows to and from our markets, with trade finance assets and contingents growing 28 per cent, commodities by 66 per cent, and FX by 14 per cent. Wholesale Banking continues to see strong growth momentum as it deepens client relationships and invests in product and service sets to meet client demand, with corporate finance and financial markets growing income by 32 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Income growth was underpinned by a strong increase in cash management volumes, up 21 per cent.

Consumer Banking continues to make strong progress in its transformation, with income up eight per cent to just over US$6 billion, whilst profit climbed 51 per cent to US$1.31bn, despite ongoing margin compression. Income growth was driven by good volume growth in mortgages, credit cards and personal loans, alongside a recovery in wealth management revenues. The focus on the strong fundamentals of the consumer business continues, with a low average loan-to-value of around 51 per cent on the mortgage book.