Standard Chartered, Britain's second-largest lender by market value, said it would stick to targeted double-digit income growth for the full year, after good revenue growth in the first nine months.
At a time when many banks have struggled, the London-based lender stands to benefit from its strong positions in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, analysts said.
Revenue grew by a high single-digit percentage for the first nine months and operating profit before tax was at a double-digit rate, the bank said in a statement without elaborating. Standard Chartered files detailed results on a half-year basis.
Group finance director Richard Meddings said yesterday that the bank's balance sheet was liquid and diversified.
'We are going to continue to run the bank very defensively with regards to liquidity and capital,' said Meddings, adding the bank's counterparty risk to European banks was 'well positioned'.
The median result of a poll of 26 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S puts the bank's expected pre-tax profit for this year to be US$6.7 billion, up 12 per cent on last year.
He said recent movements in the foreign exchange markets did present some challenges, as Asian currencies weakened against the US dollar. If the trends persist, it could pinch fourth-quarter income levels.
