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- Dubai 04:32 05:49 12:21 15:48 18:47 20:04
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Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered beat expectations with a 27 percent rise in annual profit on Tuesday despite a higher write-down on risky assets, and said it was confident of a strong 2008. Standard Chartered, which makes three-quarters of its profits in Asia, reported a 2007 pretax profit of $4.04 billion, up from $3.18 billion in 2006 and ahead of the average forecast of $3.92 billion from a Reuters Estimates poll of analysts. It said it had an "excellent" start to 2008, particularly in wholesale banking. The bank took a $300 million write-down on its Whistlejacket structured investment vehicle and its asset securitisation portfolio due to "financial turmoil". It had previously flagged a $116 million hit for Whistlejacket, which has been forced into receivership. (Reuters) |
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