The Standard Chartered Board is recommending the payment of a full-year ordinary dividend of $284 million or 9 cents per share.
Other financial highlights include:
• Income down 3% to $14.8bn, down 2% at constant currency (ccy)
- Net interest margin down 31bps to a FY'20 average of 1.31%; 1bp higher QoQ in 4Q'20 at 1.24%
• Expenses (excluding the UK bank levy) reduced 2% to $9.8bn; down 1% ccy
- Preparing for anticipated economic recovery: investment P&L charge increased $100m QoQ in 4Q'20
• Credit impairment of $2.3bn up $1.4bn YoY; $374m in 4Q'20 up slightly QoQ but flat YoY
- $827m stage 1 and 2 charge, four-fifths booked in 1H'20; 4Q'20 charge of $50m includes $41m overlay release
- Stage 3 up $823m YoY, 1/3 from unconnected fraud-related losses in 1Q'20; no significant new exposures in 4Q'20
- High risk assets reduced for the second consecutive quarter in 4Q'20; down $2.7bn (14%) in 2H'20
• Return on tangible equity down 340bps to 3.0% due to the impact of COVID-19
- Pre-provision operating profit down 4% ccy: diversified income streams and cost control largely offset impact of lower interest rates
- Underlying profit before tax down 40% to $2.5bn driven by COVID-related elevated impairments and lower interest rates
- Statutory profit before tax down 57% to $1.6bn, includes $489m goodwill impairment in India, UAE and Indonesia
• Tax charge of $862m: underlying effective tax rate of 38%, up 8%pts with lower profits increasing impact of non-deductible items
- Statutory effective tax rate of 53% elevated by non-deductible items including goodwill impairment
• The Group's balance sheet remains strong, liquid and well diversified
- Asset-to-deposit ratio down from 64.2% to 61.1%; liquidity coverage ratio broadly stable YoY despite 1H'20 disruption
- Customer loans and advances up 5%; customer accounts up 8% with a higher proportion of CASA and OPAC balances
• Risk-weighted assets of $269bn up $2.2bn since 30.09.20 and up $4.7bn since 31.12.19
- $15bn credit migration inflation in the year partly offset by $9bn Permata stake disposal benefit
• The Group remains strongly capitalised and highly liquid; returning the maximum capital currently allowed by the Group's regulator
- Common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio 14.4% above the top of the 13-14% target range (3Q'20: 14.4%)
- $254m share buy-back starting imminently will reduce the CET1 ratio at 31.03.21 by ~10bps
• Earnings per share reduced 52% to 36.1c
