Business is'burgeoning' at Stanchart

In a statement accompanying the results, the bank says while its consumer banking division recorded a sustainable level of income, the wholesale banking segment continued to be impacted by lingering effects of last year's interest rate cuts and a snail's pace of economic recovery in non-mining sectors.

"While the economy heads towards full recovery from its worst recession in more than 40 years, the bank is positioning itself for the future with strategies to restructure the balance sheet," says the statement.