By Princewill Ekwujuru & Nkiruka  Nnorom

Standard Chartered Plc said  its total group income  has recorded  8 percent  growth  in its income which is  N3.11trillion (US$19.07 billion) in 10 years of  its operation.

The bank stated that the amount includes profit and dividend growth, while wholesale banking generated 8 per cent income growth which is US$11.78bn.

The company which has 26 markets delivering over US$100 million of income said the bank is  increasingly generating income through more effective use of  its  network as trade grows strongly across its  markets.

In 2012 over 50 per cent of client income in wholesale banking was generated outside of the home market country of our clients. At the same time, consumer banking is benefiting from a fast-growing middle class as these economies expand, said  Chairman of Standard Chartered Sir. John Peace.

Peace went on to say, “the company is pleased to report that 2012 was our tenth consecutive year of income and profit growth. Standard Chartered remains a growth story and we are sticking to our strategy, focusing on the basics of good banking, in markets we know well, with clients and customers with whom we have deep relationships. We are entering the new year with strong momentum in both of our businesses and the Board remains confident for the year ahead.”

Our strong momentum comes from a range of markets, across both Wholesale and Consumer Banking. Africa and China performed particularly strongly. Our China business and Wholesale Banking in Africa have both reached US$1 billion of income for the first time. Income growth rates were also at least ten per cent in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the ‘Americas, UK and Europe’ region.

Our costs grew by 10 percent, with normalised costs up 2 per cent. The number of employees has increased by around 2,200 over the course of the year and now have over 89,000 people worldwide. While maintaining a tight grip on costs, we continue to invest, increasing investment in infrastructure, in new branches and in technology to underpin our future growth.

Normalised earnings per share increased 14 per cent and dividend per share was up 10.5 per cent, with return on equity at 12.8 per cent, as the Group continues to deliver long-term value for shareholders.

We continue to focus on the basics of banking, growing clients’ businesses while maintaining our balance sheet strength. Customer deposits were up 10 per cent while customer assets grew by 6 per cent. The Group’s balance sheet is in excellent shape and we continue to be highly liquid, well capitalised and remain deposit funded. We continue to meet Basel III requirements with a Core Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.7 per cent.