Standard Chartered lifted by Asian markets
Standard Chartered said it has had an excellent start to the year as key Asian markets lifted income by over 10 per cent, although costs rose at a faster rate after a hiring spree last year.
The Asia-focused bank said its staff headcount had dropped but this was only temporary.
Costs rose more than income compared with a year ago, but this so-called negative “jaws” was significantly narrower than last year, when costs rose 13 per cent, outpacing a six per cent income rise.
Standard Chartered is under pressure to show it has costs under control, and said it had “a firm grip” on expenses.
It has been in an increasingly intense battle for talent, especially in hot markets such as India and China. It said in March it would add about 1,000 staff this year to its roughly 85,000 employees.
The London-based bank, which generates more than four fifths of its profit in Asia and other emerging markets, said income in its consumer banking division was up in the “low double digits” and wholesale banking was up by at least 10 per cent.
It is forecast to make a profit of $7bn this year, up 14 per cent from $6.1 billion last year, according to the average of 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. That would mark a ninth successive year of record profit.