KARACHI: The Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited earned the profit-before-tax of Rs18.4 billion in the third quarter of 2021, compared with Rs19.9 billion during the corresponding period of the last year, a statement said.
The bank achieved revenue in excess of Rs26 billion, despite challenging external environment and margin compression. While on a year-on-year basis revenue went down, while the quarter-on-quarter momentum has picked up with a growth of 10 per cent in the third quarter of 2021, compared with the same period of the last year.
The administrative costs continue to be well-managed through operational efficiencies and disciplined spending, resulting in Y-o-Y increase of one per cent, compared with the same period of the last year.
Moreover, strong recoveries of bad debts, coupled with lower impairments because of prudent risk approach led to a net release of Rs0.8 billion in the year to-date (September 2021), compared with Rs3.2 billion in the comparative period.
All businesses have positive momentum with strong growth in underlying drivers. This is evident from the pickup in net advances, which grew 26 per cent since the start of this year.
This was the result of targeted strategy to build profitable, high quality and sustainable portfolios. With a diversified product base, the Standard Chartered Bank is well-positioned to cater to the needs of its clients.
On the liabilities side, the bank’s total deposits grew Rs40 billion, whereas current and saving accounts grew Rs41 billion (up 8 per cent) since the start of the current year and comprise 93 per cent of the deposit base.
The incremental liquidity generated is currently deployed in the government securities and interbank lending; thereby, resulting in an increase of 7 per cent in the total assets, which crossed Rs750 billion milestone to close at Rs775 billion.
The Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) continues to make good progress against the well-defined strategic priorities.
The global network differentiates the bank for its clients, bringing forth innovative solutions, product specialisation and structured offshore offerings. The network advantage has also enabled the bank to generate over $278 million in funding of Roshan Digital Account in addition to carrying out several high-profile transactions for the clients and the government of Pakistan.
Facilitating the clients through personalised wealth advice based on superior insight has led to an increase in wealth business by 22 per cent. The bank strives to maximise the contribution to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) initiatives on promoting housing finance.
To-date, financing of over Rs10 billion has been approved under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Scheme with the bank also among the first few to cross the landmark of Rs1 billion in disbursement under the scheme.
The total disbursements are of Rs1.7 billion as of September 30, 2021, one of the highest in the industry.
The Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) has also continued to make mark on the sustainability front, with the execution of several sustainable finance transactions, reduction in its carbon footprint and through its community initiatives, including future-makers programme targeting education, employability, and entrepreneurship.
The bank has continued to invest in technological advancements and digital infrastructure, which has and will further scale up the bank’s mass market potential in addition to strengthening its cyber-security.
The digital transaction mix, as well as adoption to digital channels, including “SC Mobile” application continue to increase and enhance the overall client experience.
Commenting on the results, Rehan Shaikh, chief executive officer of the Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited said: “I am pleased to announce our results for the third quarter [of] 2021. Our results demonstrate strong foundations and a clear path towards delivering on our strategic priorities, as we stand committed to the socioeconomic prosperity of the people of Pakistan.”
“Over the course of the last few months, we have made steady progress on our accelerated transformation journey, further enabling us to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead. Our pivot to digital continues to result in greater efficiency and growth in underlying drivers and position the bank for the future. Our control and compliance environment stays well curated.”
“As we proceed, we stand fully committed to play our part in the growth story of Pakistan, deliver timely and sustainable growth for our shareholders and ensure the best in class services and solutions for our clients,” he added.