India ops most profitable: StanChart

Standard Chartered reported a 23 per cent jump in profit before tax in India.

British banking giant Standard Chartered today reported a 23 per cent jump in profit before tax in India at USD 1.1197-billion for 2010,making it the most profitable geography across 70 nations it operates in.

The bank,the first company to come out with an IDR Indian Depository Receipts issue last year and list on Indian bourses,saw its total income from India operations go up 12 per cent to USD 2.028-billion in 2010,its Regional Chief Executive,Neeraj Swaroop,told reporters here.

In terms of PBT,India is followed by Hong Kong which posted USD 1.103-billion. The global PBT stood at USD 6.12-billion.

The bank8217;s peer,HSBC India,had yesterday reported a PBT of USD 679-million,their highest-ever from India.

Profit from the consumer banking vertical was up 87 per cent,compared to a dull 2009 to USD 101-million while profits from wholesale banking grew 9 per cent to USD 1.092-billion,he said.

Swaroop said performance in the small and medium enterprises and wealth management verticals helped consumer banking while on the wholesale side,growth is across sectors.

Overall,it witnessed a credit growth of 28 per cent and a 27 per cent deposit growth during the year.

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Currently,around 54 per cent of the bank8217;s revenues come from the core interest income while the rest is contributed by fee income which consists of advisory fees,commissions etc,he said.

The bank8217;s net interest margin for India went down by 0.4 percentage points to 3.4 per cent on the back of competition coming back into the market post-crisis,Swaroop said,adding the margins should remain flat in the next 6-12-month period.

Though it was not able to add any branch in the country last year,Stanchart opened 80 ATMs which do more work than merely dispensing cash,Swaroop said.

Stanchart will be sending its views on the discussion paper on foreign banks put up by the Reserve Bank,he said,pointing out that tax evaluation remains one of the central issue concerning the bank.

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Like HSBC,Stanchart also said that it has re-started ramping-up presence in the unsecured lending products like credit cards and personal loans and will be selectively choosing clients going forward.

Currently,20 per cent of the USD 5-billion consumer banking book consists of unsecured loans given at high interest rates where loan impairments are also high,Swaroop added.

The bank sees a greater pressure on wages in India and China going forward,Swaroop said,adding the bank8217;s remunerations are on par with peers currently.