Standard Chartered delivered low double digit growth in operating profit in the first quarter this year over the same period of 2011.

Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, while releasing Interim Management Statement (IMS) for the first quarter of 2012 said, “Standard Chartered has had a strong start to 2012, with good performances across a broad spread of geographies and products.

“We continue to benefit from the disciplined execution of our strategy and are very well positioned in dynamic markets with strong fundamentals. We are in excellent shape; we are a growth company and are differentiated by our liquidity and capital strength.”

“Macroeconomic sentiment is showing signs of improvement, although there remain clear uncertainties and risks in the global environment,” he said.

The Group’s first quarter performance builds on the excellent momentum seen at the end of 2011 with good income progression in both businesses over the comparable period. Income growth has, however, been impacted by the continued strength of the US dollar against Asian currencies in the first quarter, as indicated at the time of the full year results.

From a geographic perspective, diverse double digit income growth in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and the Americas, UK and Europe region has more than compensated for the impact of subdued domestic business sentiment in India.

In Korea, we continue to make progress with the repositioning of our business and are seeing the benefits of the Early Retirement Programme (ERP) in the cost line, he said.

The Group remains highly liquid and well capitalised and we continue to see disciplined growth on both sides of the balance sheet, in both consumer banking and wholesale banking. Risk weighted asset growth was well controlled in the first quarter of 2012.

Consumer banking delivered good single digit income growth on the first quarter of 2011. Income continued to be broadly spread, with deposit income growing at a double digit rate, reflecting good volume growth and improved margins.

Credit cards and personal loans performed well, with double digit income growth year on year, as we selectively grew our unsecured business, especially in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Korea.

Wealth management income was in line with the strong first quarter of 2011 and up on the run rate seen in the second half of 2011. Mortgage income was down on the first quarter of 2011 with assets broadly stable on the year end position and continued margin pressure.

SME performed well, with double digit income growth over the comparable period in 2011, driven by trade and cash management.

Expenses have been well controlled in the first quarter of 2012, and were up on the comparable period in 2011 by a single digit rate.

There has been growth on both sides of the balance sheet since the year end, with a partial benefit from currency translation. Liability margins in the first quarter increased on the year end position, whilst asset margins were broadly flat on the level seen during the second half of 2011.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 4th May 2012

PBL chairman Hafiz Ahmed Mazumder, MP, managing director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, seen at the second PBL conference for the year of 2012 in Dhaka Thursday.

The second conference 2012 of the regional and corporate branch managers of Pubali Bank Limited was held at the Bank’s head office.

Lawmaker Hafiz Ahmed Mazumder, PBL board chairman, was present as the chief guest while managing director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury presided over the meeting, says a press release Thursday.

Vice-chairman Habibur Rahman, directors’ Moniruddin Ahmed, Syed Moazzem Hussain, Fahim Ahmed Faruk Chowdhury, alternate director Muha-mmed Kabiruzzaman Yaqub, independent director Khurshid-Ul-Alam delivered their speech as special guests.

Additional managing director MA Halim Chowdhury, deputy managing director Safiul Alam Khan Chowdhury, general managers and other senior executives were present at the conference.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 4th May 2012

A huge Euro logo is pictured past the headquarters of the ECB in Frankfurt.

The European Central Bank will resist pressure to do more to fight the euro zone crisis when it meets in Barcelona on Thursday, holding fire despite calls to restart its bond-buying program to help austerity-hit Spain.

Financial markets are clamoring for the ECB to step up its efforts to fight the two-year crisis by buying the sovereign bonds of Spain, which is in recession and is struggling to convince some of its people of the need for further austerity.

But ECB policymakers, who will face demonstrators protesting against Spain's harsh austerity measures in the Catalonian capital, are more likely to pay homage to the country's drive to cut costs than to signal any new policy action like restarting the bond-buy program, or Securities Markets Programme (SMP).

The bank has left the plan dormant for the last seven weeks despite a rise in Spanish yields to 6 percent. A break above that, to 7 percent, is considered an unsustainable price to pay for refinancing its debt.

"I think the reactivation of the SMP will occur only at a point at which the situation has deteriorated significantly and I think the pressure would have to be greater than that we've seen in recent weeks.’’

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 4th May 2012

Md. Mahmudul Hoque has been elected chairman of the board of directors of Jamuna Bank Limited.

The Bank’s board of directors at its 199th meeting on Sunday unanimously elected Mahmudul Hoque as the chairman.

He is the chairman and managing director of Anlima Group and also chairman of Precision Energy Limited.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 4th May 2012

Inward remittances fell 2.43 percent to $1.08 billion in March compared to a month ago, but the overall growth in the first ten months of the current fiscal year reached near 11 percent.

During the period, more than $1 billion was remitted from abroad by Bangladeshi migrant workers every month, except September and November, according to data from the central bank.

In March, remittances stood at $1.1 billion.

However, remittances increased by 10.41 percent to $10.61 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year.

The banking regulator projected that remittance earnings will be worth around $13 billion in the current fiscal year, which will have a positive impact on the country's balance of payments, a Bangladesh Bank official said.

The official said a good flow of remittances has already made the foreign currency reserve and exchange rate stable in recent times.

The exchange rate in the inter-bank foreign exchange market hovered around Tk 82 against the dollar last month, which was more than Tk 85 a month ago.

The BB official said multilateral donor agencies, including some analysts, apprehended that the foreign currency reserve would come down to $9 billion but still the reserve is more than $10 billion.

According to the central bank statistics, the forex reserve was $10.19 billion yesterday.

The BB official also said, as remittance inflow was good, the pressure on the current account balance eased to some extent despite a fall in foreign aid.

In the beginning of the fiscal year, the surplus in the current account balance was much less. But now the situation is improving gradually.

According to the BB statistics, the current account surplus was $681 million in nine months from July to March though the amount is lesser than that during the same period last year.

During the same period last year, the current account surplus was $999 million.

An official of National Credit and Commerce Bank said the remittances not only fuelled the reserve, but also kept rural economy vibrant.

The official of the private bank said the relatives of the expatriates spend the remittances in the rural areas, contributing to the country's gross domestic product.

An official of Agrani Bank said, as oil prices are on the rise, the Gulf Cooperation Countries have increased construction and other economic activities, which in turn boosted demands for migrant workers.

He also said some Arab states are now witnessing political stability after conflicts in the region.

The rebuilding activities following the prolonged unrest are leading to a revival of demand for Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East countries.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 4th May 2012