Standard Chartered not only bucked market turmoil but made record annual profits and announced increase in full-year dividend.

Pre-tax profits of the emerging markets’ bank increased by 19% to £3.4 billion as it wrested market share from weakened rivals in wholesale banking. The annual dividend rose 3.3% to 61.62 cents a share, crediting it as the lone UK bank which enhanced payout to shareholders. It will also become the first British lender to reward directors with cash bonuses though these will be down by almost 25%.

The customer deposits rose by 30% and the bank declared capital ratio of 7.6%, a percentage point higher than analyst’s prediction. The bank’s chief executive, Peter Sands declared that Standard Chartered began the year in good shape and its balance sheet and liquidity were very strong.

Although the bank admitted that it was taken by surprise by the severity and pace of downturn but predicted that recovery in Asia, Middle East and Africa would come sooner than in the West.

The rise of 27% in wholesale profit to $3 billion contributed to bank’s growth. Though bad debts jumped high due to non-payments by the clients from Korea, Asian countries and Hong Kong, they were offset by phenomenal rise in volumes and hefty margins. The bank took advantage of confusion among rivals and grabbed market share.

Bank’s strong financial position and results have been welcomed by analysts.