Standchart Tops Asset List With Rs 24515 Cr

Standard Chartered, in terms of asset base, has achieved the number one position amongst foreign banks in India.

As per the combined balance sheet of Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Chartered Grindlays, the bank has overtaken Citibank by posting a Rs 24,515 crore assets as of March 2001, while Citibank's asset size was at Rs 19,466 crore.

Citibank, which has been pushed back to the second spot, has already begun initiatives in order to gain back its numero uno position by launching schemes such as Suvidha and CitiBusiness.

Victor Menezes, chairman and chief executive officer, Citibank NA, during his visit to India last year had indicated that the bank would do everything to retain its position.

However, Citibank is the highest profit-making bank in India as per figures on March 31. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) comes at the third position with assets worth Rs 15,594 crore. The bank, too, has been introducing and innovating products in order to climb the ladder.

Standard Chartered had posted a profit after tax of Rs 262.5 crore, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) has netted Rs 185.4 crore, an increase of 11.28 per cent and Standard Chartered Grindlays (SCG) has recorded a 57.19 per cent dip in profit at Rs 77.1 crore.

HSBC has posted a profit after tax of Rs 201 crore (Rs 122 crore), a 65 per cent jump, while the net profit at Citibank rose 41 per cent at Rs 285 crore.

The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of SCB has increased marginally from 9.5 per cent to 9.6 per cent, while that of SCG has gone up from 10.93 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The CAR of Citibank has also jumped from 10.62 per cent to 11.24 per cent, while HSBC has seen an increase in CAR to 12.37 per cent from 10.3 per cent.

The ratio of non-performing assets (NPAs) to net advances has reduced for SCB, from 2.04 per cent to 1.53 per cent, while that of SCG has gone up from 0.03 per cent to 0.4 per cent.

Citibank's NPA ratio to net advances has also gone up from 0.70 per cent to 1.05 per cent, while that of HSBC increased from 0.99 per cent to 1.04 per cent.