Standard Chartered turns record profit
STANDARD Chartered beat expectations with record half-year profits of $3.12bn (£1.96bn) as bad debts more than halved and its key Asian markets fared better than those in the west.
Standard Chartered said its pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year was up ten per cent from last year, and came in just above the average forecast of $3.06bn from eight analysts.
The bank, which is based in London but makes about four-fifths of its profits in Asia, said impairment losses on loans dropped to $437m from $1.09bn a year earlier as charges shrunk in the Middle East and elsewhere, to extend a trend shown by rivals including HSBC.