Standard Chartered on a high for eighth year running

Posting a 19 per cent rise in profits for 2010, Standard said it had its best-ever January and expected revenue to grow at least 10 per cent this year. However, chief executive Peter Sands admitted the bank was facing increased pressure on costs as wage demands in Asia and other emerging markets were rising.

"We are seeing the war for talent across most of our markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and it is very acute in India and China, where a quarter of our staff are based," Sands said. It followed similar comments about remuneration in the region by Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of rival HSBC, earlier this week.

Standard made a record pre-tax profit of $6.1 billion (3.8bn) in 2010, a new high for the eighth consecutive year. But costs rose 13 per cent, outpacing a 6 per cent rise in income, meaning the group's cost/ income ratio lifted to 55.9 per cent from 51.3 per cent.

The bank said that its bonus pool for staff rose to $1.2bn from $1.1bn as analysts said it had paid top dollar to make several high-profile hires.

Standard added some 7,000, or 9 per cent, to the payroll last year. But Sands said it would only add about 1,000 in 2011. The group said tougher regulatory rules cost it about $150 million.

Daniel Tabbush, banking analyst at Bangkok-based CLSA, said: "The bank is very well positioned and while we won't see the kind of jump we saw last year, it is still going to be fairly good growth."