HSBC REPORTS US$0.8 BLN IN PRE-TAX PROFIT IN THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

LONDON, Oct 29 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Banking giant HSBC has recorded a pre-tax profit of US$7.7 billion (£5.9 billion) for the third quarter of 2024.

The British universal bank reported a profit before tax increase of $0.8 billion when compared with the same time last year, reported PA Media/dpa news.

This was primarily driven by foreign exchange, equities, global markets, as well as revenue growth in wealth and personal banking.

The bank's net interest income of US$7.6 billion fell by US$1.6 billion, compared with the same time last year.

The decreased result was credited to higher business disposals, increased interest expense on liabilities,  and a loss on the early redemption of legacy securities.

Operating expenses were 2 per cent higher when compared with the same time in 2023, coming in at US$8.1 billion.

The increases in expenses were driven primarily by higher spending, investment in technology and the impacts of inflation.

HSBC last week unveiled an overhaul of its global structure, with new banking boss Georges Elhedery seeking to reduce costs and focus on the institution's strongest divisions.

The British-founded bank said it was simplifying operations by splitting into four key units, and geographically into East and West.

In a statement, group chief executive Elhedery said: "Our strong organic capital generation enables us to announce a further US$4.8 billion of distributions in respect of the third quarter, which bring the total distributions announced so far in 2024 to US$18.4 billion.

"HSBC is a highly connected, global business and the plans we set out last week aim to increase our leadership and market share in areas where we have competitive advantage, deliver best-in-class products and service excellence to our customers, and create a simpler, more dynamic, more agile organisation with clearer lines of accountability and faster decision-making."

He added: "We will begin to implement these plans immediately and will share further details as part of a business update alongside our full-year results in February."

--BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa