Standard Chartered says aims for "prudent buffer" on capital

[LONDON] Standard Chartered said it intends to keep a "prudent buffer" over minimum capital requirements and said it is well placed to meet proposed higher rules to hold more debt that can absorb losses.

Standard Chartered said it had loss absorbing capacity of 20 per cent or more which was also "in the right place" in slides released on Thursday after a 3-day investor trip in Hong Kong. Global regulators are proposing banks hold total loss absorbing capital of at least 16-20 per cent.

Standard Chartered said in the slides it had been "active and early" in managing credit risks in India, China and commodities, areas where its bad debts jumped in the third quarter. It said it had US$61 billion of credit exposure to commodities at the end of June, including 107 exposures of US$100 million or more.

REUTERS