STANDARD Chartered yesterday said profits before tax for the year ended December 31, 2012 rose 40 per cent to Sh11.6 billion, up from Sh8.3 billion the other year.

The bank's total income was up 30 per cent to Sh21 billion with total interest income rising to Sh19.7 billion up from Sh12.1 billion helped by a Sh16.9 billion growth in loan book. The bank loaned out Sh112.6 billion, up from Sh96 billion the previous year.

The results places Standard Chartered as the fourth most profitable bank in Kenya after Equity, KCB and Barclays in that order with Co-operative being ranked fifth. For the period, Equity posted Sh17.4 billion profit before tax ahead of Kenya Commercial Bank which reported a pre-tax profit of Sh17.2 billion. Barclays reported Sh13 billion while Co-op posted Sh9.97 billion.

"Our performance has been driven by good levels of client and customer activity leading to double digit income growth both consumer and wholesale banking businesses," Stanchart chief executive Richard Etemesi said in a statement.

"We have seen good customer growth and remain a customer deposit funded bank. Deposits are up 15 per cent and assets have grown 17 per cent, so our advances to deposits ratio now stands at 80 per cent."

In a year that saw most banks post impressive results, Diamond Trust Bank said yesterday its profits before tax for 2012 rose by 40 per cent to Sh6billion, up from Sh4.3 billion in 2011.

DTB's total interest income increased by 65 per cent to stand at Sh16.6 billion helped by a more than double growth in loan book to Sh13.8 billion.

DTB managing director Nasim Devji said the bank's growth benefitted from a continuously expanding customer base serviced through branches as well as, technology-anchored, alternate delivery channels including mobile banking, internet banking and card services. The group results have also benefitted from the continuing growth of and share of results from, DTB's subsidiaries in Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.