A good result but some analyst expectations were looking for up to $ 20 billion. Within the figures just announced, Loan impairment figures were down to US $ 14 Billion the lowest seen since 2006.
Other statistics released by the Bank were:- Customer lending up 8% to US$958bn; deposits up 7% to US$1.2tn.
- UK total Commercial Banking lending up 3% to £39.5bn; new loans up 17% to £9.9bn.
- UK new loans to SMEs up 19% to £2.4bn; total SME lending down 1.6% as customers repaid.
- Added over half a million Commercial Banking customers globally; helped 2,400 businesses a week start-up in UK.
The market was unimpressed however, marking their shares down by over 3% just after opening this morning in an environment still overshadowed by events in Libya and concerns over the rising price of oil.