Standard Chartered puts aside £750 million bonus pot
Banking giant Standard Chartered has today announced profits of £3.4 billion which is a 13% increase on the previous year. However, the company has also announced plans to put aside a £750 million bonus pot which again puts the UK banking sector in the spotlight. However, Standard Chartered is slightly different to the rest of the UK banking sector as its main focus is Asia where it is a very prominent figure in the financial community.
Interestingly, Peter Sands the company's chief executive has also announced plans to donate his £2.1 million bonus to charity although as his payment has been deferred it will be allocated to the relevant charities in the future. Asia is a prominent market for the financial sector and the very fact we have seen an increase in profitability at Standard Chartered bodes well for the future. Many believe that between America and the Far East there is a need for an increase in financial activity to pull the worldwide economy further and further away from recession.
So far there have been few disappointments in the bank reporting season although Lloyds bank and Royal Bank of Scotland have perhaps performed slightly worse than the majority. However, UK taxpayers are still concerned that both direct and indirect investment into the sector is benefiting individual companies but as yet taxpayers are yet to feel any real benefit.
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