HSBC profit rises 32% as the bank plans another $1 billion buyback
Pretax profit reached $9.6 billion, helped by higher revenue, lower credit losses and the absence of last year's legal provisions.
HSBC reported third-quarter pretax profit of $9.6 billion on Tuesday, up 32% from a year earlier, and said it intends to buy back up to $1 billion of shares. Revenue rose to $18.6 billion from $17.8 billion.
The year-on-year profit increase reflected higher revenue, lower expected credit losses and the absence of $1.4 billion of legal provisions recorded a year earlier. Expected credit losses fell 17% to $800 million. That makes the headline profit jump partly a comparison with an unusually costly prior-year quarter, not solely an increase in ordinary business activity.
The bank kept its forecast for at least $46 billion in banking net interest income for 2026 and its target for a return on average tangible equity of 17% or better in 2026 through 2028, excluding notable items. Shares nevertheless fell after the results. The figures put two forces side by side: continuing income from the bank's lending and deposit business, and the lift from expenses that did not recur.
