Standard Chartered Bank in the UAE recorded profits before taxes, during the first quarter of 2024, at about $125 million (459.11 million dirhams), a growth of 4.17%, compared to $120 million (440.75 million dirhams) in the first quarter of 2023. The bank’s operating profits before taxes increased. In the UAE, during the first quarter of 2024, to about $131 million (481.15 million dirhams), a growth of 10.08%, compared to $119 million (437.08 million dirhams) in the first quarter of 2023.
The value of the bank’s assets in the Emirates increased by 21.49% during the first quarter of 2024 to $24.559 billion (90.20 billion dirhams), compared to $20.215 billion (74.25 billion dirhams) in the first quarter of 2023.
Standard Chartered beat expectations on Thursday with a 5.5% rise in pre-tax profits in the first quarter, as higher income resulting from higher interest rates and a strong performance in its markets trading business offset a rise in credit losses.
The bank, which generates the bulk of its revenues and profits in Asia, saw the profits of its investment banking unit rise by 13 percent during the quarter.
Crucially, the bank has increased fee-based income from markets and wealth management in particular, a key target for itself and rivals, as interest rates around the world peak and limit the support they have recently received from income-based lending.
Globally, Standard Chartered made a pre-tax profit of $1.91 billion in the January-March quarter, compared with $1.81 billion in the same period a year earlier and the $1.39 billion average of estimates from 13 analysts compiled by the bank.
The British bank has allocated provisions worth a total of $1.2 billion in relation to the commercial real estate sector in China. Its total credit exposure to the sector now stands at $2.4 billion, down $200 million from the previous quarter.
Standard Chartered had received a total of $850 million in write-downs in previous quarters on its stake in China’s Bohai Bank, which like its peers has suffered from the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the deepening crisis in the real estate sector.