Many banks have said extra global regulations, brought in to make them safer after the 2008 financial crisis, are hurting profitability and could restrict their lending. But very few have quantified the impact on their bottom line.
A European Union proposal to cap bankers’ bonuses at double their salary was also a worry, the bank said.
“We are concerned about it because we are a global bank and 97% of our staff are outside the EU and we’re concerned about our ability to be competitive in attracting and retaining talent,” chief executive Peter Sands said.
Standard Chartered said it had cut its 2012 bonus pool by 7% from a year before to $1.43 billion, after it was fined $667 million by US regulators for breaching sanctions related to Iran and three other countries.