HSBC triples quarterly profits following SVB UK acquisition and interest rate hikes
Banking heavyweight HSBC has posted its first quarter earnings for 2023, reporting a $12.9 billion profit before tax – more than three times the $4.2 billion it made in Q1 2022.
HSBC sees its profits triple in Q1 2023
HSBC attributes $1.5 billion as a “provisional gain” from its purchase of Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) in March, for a nominal sum of £1.
The total profit figure is also boosted by a $2.1 billion gain stemming from “reversing an impairment related to the planned sale of our French retail operations”, as this deal may no longer be happening.
The bank had also agreed to sell its Canada business to the Royal Bank of Canada for $10 billion in November 2022. Providing an update, HSBC says it “continues to classify this business as held for sale” but now expects the transaction to be completed in Q1 2024.
HSBC’s revenue shot up to $20.2 billion from $11.6 billion in the same period last year. The bank also intends to begin a new share buyback of up to $2 billion.
“We’ve announced a strong set of results for this quarter. It’s further proof that our strategy is working. Our profits were spread across our major geographies, our three global businesses performed well, and we kept a good grip on costs,” says Noel Quinn, chief executive of HSBC Group.
“We remain focused on continuing to improve our performance and maintaining tight cost discipline. And we’re investing in growth – we saw an opportunity to do that with our acquisition of SVB UK.”
