Standard Chartered profit rises 16% on year

Standard Chartered PLC's third-quarter pretax profit rose 16% on year as income faster than costs.

The bank's pretax underlying profit was $1.24 billion in constant currency terms, compared with $1.07 billion over the same period last year, the lender said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.

Net interest income rose 8.9% on year to $2.39 billion while operating income was up 6.8% at $3.98 billion, the bank said.

Its net interest margin in the third quarter was 1.56%, down from 1.62% in the previous quarter.

Third-quarter operating expenses were slightly lower at $2.50 billion from $2.51 billion a year earlier. The lender's credit impairment stood at $279 million, up from $115 million a year earlier.

"There are growing headwinds from the combination of continuing geopolitical tensions and expectations of declining near-term global growth and interest rates," the bank said.