StanChart profits hit record

Standard Chartered notched up a ninth consecutive year of record earnings in 2011 on the back of buoyant growth in Hong Kong and Singapore, though rising competition for staff pushed up its wages bill. London-based Standard Chartered, which makes more than three quarters of its profit in Asia, said on Wednesday strong growth in both investment and retail banking arms absorbed a 15 percent rise in staff costs and a fall in profit in two of its biggest markets, India and Korea.
StanChart reported a 2011 pretax profit of $6.8 billion, up 11 percent from $6.1 billion a year earlier and in line with the average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. Underlying wage inflation was about 5 percent as the bank competed to hire and retain staff, notably in China and India, chief executive Peter Sands said. "Yes, we are facing acute competition for talent, but we are still managing to invest and keep a tight grip on costs," Sands told reporters on a conference call.
Total staff costs were $6.6 billion, up from $5.8 billion in 2010, but that was swelled by costs for a voluntary retirement plan in Korea, foreign exchange effects and the addition of 1,400 staff during the year. Its London-listed shares were up 2 percent at 16.55 pounds at 1000 GMT, in line with a firmer bank sector index. The stock is up 17 percent this year, valuing it at more than $62 billion. Its Hong Kong-listed shares rose 0.4 percent.
StanChart reported a 2011 pretax profit of $6.8 billion, up 11 percent from $6.1 billion a year earlier and in line with the average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. Hong Kong remains its biggest market, with profits up 41 percent at $1.5 billion, and seen as the focus of plans to benefit from the internationalisation of China's yuan currency.