Paul Noronha

Mr Jaspal Bindra (right), Director, Standard Chartered Bank, and Mr Neeraj Swaroop, CEO, Standard Chartered India, at a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday. —

Our Bureau

Mumbai, Aug 7

Standard Chartered Bank said that a 50 per cent increase in operating profits in India made the country its second largest market in the world, after Hong Kong.

Its Indian operations, reported an operating profit of $350 million for the six months ended June 2007, its share in the group profits increasing to 16.2, from 12.6 per cent a year earlier.

Hong Kong, accounting for 26 per cent of the profit, continues to be the largest market for the bank.

The profitability of its Indian operations was led by the wholesale banking activity, said Mr Neeraj Swaroop, CEO, Standard Chartered in India. This segment’s operating profit rose by 70 per cent to $280 million. “Wholesale banking is playing an increasingly important role in the internationalisation of Indian companies,” said Mr Swaroop.

Non-fund based income accounts for about 35 per cent of the income from wholesale banking. However, profits from consumer banking reported a 16.5 per cent drop to $40 million from $48 million in the year-ago period.

Mr Swaroop said that though competition has affected retail margins, the drop in profits in consumer banking was mainly due to increased investments the bank has made in this segment.

As a strategy, the bank has not been very active in the mortgage segment. Even in the credit card business, the bank has been focusing on quality of assets rather than on numbers,” he said.

Mr Jaspal Bindra, Regional CEO for South and South East Asia, said he expects Indian operations continue to contribute a major share in the group’s profits.

Mr Bindra, who has been appointed as a Director of Standard Charterd Bank, said the bank would continue to explore the opportunities for organic growth.

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