In similar fashion to rival banking group HSBC (HSBA), bad loans blew a large hole in Standard Chartered' s (STAN) balance sheet last year. Impairment on bad debts linked to falling commodities prices, as well as a business slowdown in India contributed to the bulk of the $3.2bn impairment on loans to businesses and investment banking clients. Weakness in emerging market currency put a further $700m dent in the group's income.
Management is in the early stages of restructuring around $100bn of the group's risk-weighted assets (RWA), which includes liquidating around $20bn deemed beyond its tightened risk tolerance. This process added a further $1.63bn impairment on assets within the RWA portfolio. Overall, the group's total loan impairments rose 87 per cent to $4bn.