Standard Chartered Pakistan Posts Profit Before Tax of Rs. 17 Billion in Q1

Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan Limited (SCBPL) delivered a resilient financial performance with profit before tax of Rs. 17.0 billion in Q1 2025 compared to Rs. 24.7 billion in Q1 2024. The Bank posted revenue of Rs. 23.1 billion, lower by Rs. 6.4 billion primarily due to a sharp reduction in interest rates. This was partially offset by an increase in non-funded income and a decrease in cost of funds. While expenses increased 11 percent on the back of inflation, investment in infrastructure and people, bank continues to lead the industry with lowest cost to income ratio of 25 percent.  A prudent risk approach and recoveries of bad debts led to a benign charge of Rs. 0.3 billion during the year. On the liabilities side, the Bank’s total deposits stood at Rs. 726 billion; down by 13 percent from start of the year. The Bank’s deposit mix improved with current accounts now constituting 54 percent of the deposit book, compared to 48 percent last year. On the assets side, net advances recorded a strong growth of Rs. 54 billion or 31 percent during Q1’25, reflecting pick-up in economic momentum. With a healthy Return on Equity (ROE) of 28.9 percent for the period and a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 19.0percent, the Bank remains well positioned for future growth. The Bank continues to monitor the economic landscape and is well placed to cater to the needs of its clients and will continue its strategy to build a profitable, efficient, and sustainable portfolio bringing best-in-class services and solutions; focusing on its differentiated cross-border capabilities, wealth management expertise and digital transformation. Through our global Futuremakers initiative the Bank serves the communities it operates in by running programmes that directly work on addressing gender disparity, building economic inclusion and creating pathways to employability for disadvantaged groups. The SC Women in Tech Programme has been hugely successful in building economic inclusion and ensuring women entrepreneurs receive access to funding with over 145 women-led businesses supported since 2019. Through the Goal Programme the Bank works to create concrete pathways for underprivileged girls and young women to become economically resilient. Since its launch in 2016, the Bank has impacted more than 90,000 adolescent girls in Pakistan by providing financial literacy, life skills and employability training. The Bank also partners with Karachi United and launched the Seventh Youth League – Football Tournament to promote sports amongst children for the seventh year in a row. Commenting on the results, Rehan Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer & Head of Coverage, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan said, “Standard Chartered Pakistan’s results reflect a resilient start to the year underpinned by prudent risk management, disciplined execution and continued trust from our clients. The current lower interest rate environment has supported a healthy uptick in lending which bodes well for business expansion. We have seen encouraging momentum across key segments and remain focused on delivering sustainable growth and contributing meaningfully to Pakistan’s economy.”