Standard posts strong first quarter

The London-based group, which avoided state support during the financial crisis, said it had seen continued improvement in performance in the three months to March 31.

The latest sign of health from the banking sector follows strong first-quarter updates from Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group last week.

Standard said its bad debt performance had improved with "no material new impairments" in corporate loans.

Standard Chartered's international focus - particularly in developing regions - has helped the bank weather the financial storm better than many competitors.

It posted a 13 per cent rise in annual profits to 5.2 billion US dollars (3.5bn) for 2009 and has shown little sign of losing momentum this year.

"Overall, the group has had a very strong start to the year, despite margin headwinds and increasing competitive pressures, with a record quarter in terms of both profit and income," the firm said.

Standard has moved to rebalance the business, with a greater contribution from the consumer division in the quarter compared to last year.

The firm continues to grow the business with a focus on home loans and current and savings accounts.

But Standard added that good volume growth in mortgages had been "more than offset" by reduced margins as a result of increased competition in the market, while interest rates remained very low.