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☆ HSBC stock jumps as Q1 profits triple and and it announces share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —HSBC announced it had tripled its quarterly profit Tuesday, blowing past expectations as it benefited from high interest rates around the world. Europe’s biggest bank recorded a whopping $12.9 billion in pre-tax profit for the quarter ended March. That was up 207% from a year earlier, and significantly higher than the $8.6 billion average predicted by a poll of 17 analysts compiled by HSBC. The bank’s revenue also surged to $20.2 billion, compared with $12.5 billion for the same period the previous year. HSBC (HSBC) attributed the jump in profits partly to a provisional sum of $1.5 billion it expects to gain from buying the UK unit of failed US lender, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

☆ HSBC: Top shareholder Ping An calls for breakup, expressing 'deep concern'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Europe’s biggest bank is facing growing calls to spin off its Asia business. Alongside chairman Mark Tucker, he defended HSBC (HBCYF)’s strategy and said splitting the bank would not be in shareholders’ interests. “Despite sharing multiple suggestions with HSBC, we have been extremely disappointed by HSBC management’s consistent closed-minded attitude to all solutions,” Huang wrote. HSBC Asia “will be the most valuable and unique bank in Asia with the strongest growth potential within the HSBC system, and also the only local bank with global competitiveness,” he added. HSBC will hold its annual shareholder meeting on May 5.

☆ HSBC spinoff: Bank's top execs face tense shareholders in Hong Kong calling for a breakup
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Quinn addressed those complaints head-on Monday, saying “our profits in Hong Kong and the UK are no longer being dragged down by underperformance elsewhere. Mark Tucker, chairman of HSBC, left, and Peter Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, departing following the bank's shareholders meeting in Hong Kong on Monday. They argue that if the lender cordoned off its activities in Asia, it would no longer have to expose Hong Kong shareholders to requests in other jurisdictions. Christine Fong, a district council member in Hong Kong, said she represented about 500 small shareholders who had been affected by the dividend cancellation. An HSBC bank branch in Hong Kong last July.

☆ HSBC brushes aside Hong Kong investor's Asia spin-off proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, April 3 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L) on Monday pushed aside a proposal by an activist shareholder in Hong Kong to spin off its mainstay Asia business, reiterating the adverse impact on the Asia-focussed bank's cost and clients. The comment came as Ken Lui, an individual HSBC shareholder and leader of a Hong Kong-based investor group, called for the break up of the bank. The Hong Kong meeting is being held ahead of HSBC's main annual general meeting in the British city of Birmingham on May 5, to discuss its 2022 results and "other matters of interest", an earlier notice shows. On Lui's demand for higher dividends, Quinn told the Hong Kong shareholders that the London-headquartered bank intended to get the payouts back to pre-COVID level as soon as possible. ($1 = 7.8499 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during the Goldman Sachs Investor Day at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidHONG KONG/SHANGHAI, March 31 (Reuters) - A flurry of top financial executives have visited China for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic as global financial giants seek to cement their relations with Beijing at the start of President Xi Jinping's new term. International financial institutions and investors are welcome to expand in China, the chairman of the country's securities regulator said. Goldman Sachs' Solomon and Blackstone (BX.N) CEO Stephen Schwarzman met Peng Chun, chairman of China Investment Corporation (CIC), this week, according to official social media posts from the $1.35 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Meanwhile, Chip Kaye, Warburg Pincus's CEO, met Beijing's major Yin Yong during his visit to the city last week, according to a municipal statement from Beijing.

☆ HSBC bought Silicon Valley Bank UK in record time — here's how events unfolded
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC came to the rescue of Silicon Valley Bank UK in a crucial deal for the whole banking sector. Silicon Valley Bank — a U.S. lender with clients mostly in the tech and health-care startup world — was deemed insolvent by American regulators on Friday. Consequently, the Bank of England announced Friday that, "absent any meaningful further information," it would be placing Silicon Valley Bank UK into an insolvency procedure. More than 200 companies — depositors with SVB UK — wrote Saturday to the U.K.'s Treasury asking for help. They said that some would not be able to comply with payroll deadlines without accessing their deposits with SVB UK.

"HSBC is Europe's largest bank, and SVB UK customers should feel reassured by the strength, safety and security that brings them," Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said. The Bank of England said it had organised the sale to underpin confidence in the financial system and minimise any fallout for British technology firms. "This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement. The Bank of England said SVB UK had a total balance sheet size of around 8.8 billion pounds. Other potential buyers for SVB UK had included Bank of London, which said on Sunday it had submitted a formal proposal.

☆ HSBC acquires British arm of stricken Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) said on Monday it is acquiring the UK subsidiary of stricken Silicon Valley Bank for 1 pound, rescuing a key lender for technology start-ups in Britain. "This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement. "No other UK banks are directly, materially affected by these actions, or by the resolution of SVBUK’s U.S. parent bank. As of March 10, Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited had loans of around 5.5 billion pounds and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds, HSBC said. SVB UK's tangible equity is expected to be around 1.4 billion pounds, HSBC said.

☆ Why Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and what it could mean
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —Silicon Valley Bank collapsed with astounding speed on Friday. A Brinks armored truck sits parked in front of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1983, Silicon Valley Bank was, just before collapsing, America’s 16th largest commercial bank. Like many other banks, SVB ploughed billions into US government bonds during the era of near-zero interest rates. By Friday morning, trading in SVB shares was halted and it had abandoned efforts to raise capital or find a buyer.

With assets of around 5.5 billion pounds and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds, SVB UK is a minnow compared to HSBC. The situation was urgent because SVB UK had lost almost half of its deposits in the 48 hours leading up to its rescue, the source said. Officials from the Bank of England and Treasury along with board members from SVB UK were then locked in talks. HSBC also plans to inject 2 billion pounds of liquidity into SVB UK, a spokesperson for HSBC said. Advisory firm Rothschild, which advised SVB UK according to sources, also declined to comment.

The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) logo is seen through a rain-covered window. LONDON — HSBC on Monday announced a deal to buy the U.K. subsidiary of the U.S. tech startup lender Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed on Friday. HSBC confirmed that its U.K. ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank, had agreed to acquire SVB U.K. for £1 ($1.21). The sale, facilitated by the Bank of England in consultation with the U.K. Treasury, will protect the deposits of SVB U.K. clients, the Treasury said in a statement. "The U.K.'s tech sector is genuinely world-leading and of huge importance to the British economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs," he added.

☆ HSBC turns Silicon Valley Bank calamity into gold
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A crisis can be an opportunity for the prepared. That’s what HSBC (HSBA.L) may find with its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm (SVBUK), announced on Monday morning. The Bank of London, a young clearing bank that also submitted a bid, said on Monday that the HSBC deal was a missed opportunity to promote competition. On that theory, the UK government and Bank of England should have handed SVBUK to a financial-technology startup or a challenger bank, rather than strengthening an established player. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's UK unit has been sold to HSBC for $1.21
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Silicon Valley Bank's UK unit has been sold to HSBC for 1 British pound, or $1.21. "This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said. "This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in the bank's statement. The acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank's UK unit came after its California-based parent was shut down by California regulators Friday and taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Silicon Valley Bank's share prices had collapsed following a failed $2.3 billion capital raise.

The London-headquartered bank (HSBA.L) said on Tuesday it would pay a special dividend of $0.21 per share, from the proceeds of the $10 billion sale of its Canada business. HSBC's conservative outlook echoed that of British rival NatWest (NWG.L), which warned last week that profit earned from rising interest rates may have peaked. HSBC said annual expected credit losses rose to $3.6 billion, more than the $3.2 billion analysts had estimated, due to rising inflation pressuring borrowers and lingering problems in China's property market. That matched the $17.5 billion average estimate of 22 analysts compiled by the bank. Meanwhile, HSBC said it still expects to complete the sale of its Russia business in first-half 2023, taking a $300 million loss.

But some analysts had expected HSBC to also raise its key performance target of reaching a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, a target the bank stuck to in its earnings report. Meanwhile, HSBC said it still expects to complete the sale of its Russia business in first-half 2023, taking a $300 million loss. So far this year, the shares have risen 20% versus a 7% rise in the FTSE index (.FTSE). HSBC said annual expected credit losses rose to $3.6 billion, more than the $3.2 billion analysts had estimated, due to rising inflation pressuring borrowers and lingering problems in China's property market. Despite the fourth-quarter surge, annual profit fell to $17.5 billion from $18.9 billion for 2021, due to an impairment of $2.4 billion related to the sale of its retail banking operations in France.

☆ HSBC CEO: China property market outlook on the mend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 21 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) Group CEO Noel Quinn said the outlook for China's troubled property sector had improved in January, despite the lender booking higher charges in the fourth quarter related to its exposure to the country's commercial real estate sector. "The sentiment in the fourth quarter was more negative than the sentiment that emerged in January," Quinn told Reuters, adding that there were positive developments both on the demand side and the supply side linked to big policy measures. Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Lawrence White4Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Standard Chartered plans hiring spree in Hong Kong as it sees a 'pickup' after Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Standard Chartered is going on a hiring spree in Hong Kong this year, in a sign of renewed confidence in its biggest market as the city reopens its border with mainland China. The British bank said it would add 300 to 500 employees to its ranks of roughly 5,500 to 5,800. Standard Chartered (SCBFF) Hong Kong CEO Mary Huen said the new recruitment drive would position the bank to capitalize on the reopening of the city’s border with mainland China. China fully reopened its borders with its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao this month, in what is expected to be a major boost for the economies of the two cities. Hong Kong is also its biggest market.

☆ HSBC reports fourth-quarter pre-tax profit of $5.2 billion, beating estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The bank's reported profit before tax for the three months ended in December was $5.2 billion, 108% higher than $2.5 billion a year ago and better than the $4.97 billion expected in estimates compiled by the bank. HSBC said its fourth-quarter results reflect strong reported revenue growth and lower reported operating expenses. For the full year, reported revenue was $51.73 billion, up from $49.55 billion in 2021. The bank's reported profit before tax for 2022 fell to $17.53 billion from $18.91 billion a year ago. Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC were about 1% lower before the release, but were nearly 2% lower in the afternoon.

☆ HSBC cuts staff bonus pool, lifts CEO Quinn's total pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lawrence White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - HSBC cut its annual bonus pool by 4% to $3.4 billion in 2022, the bank said on Tuesday, as a global slump in dealmaking led it to trim awards for its bankers. Despite the overall bonus cuts for staff, Chief Executive Noel Quinn saw his pay package jump 14% to 5.6 million pounds ($6.7 million), from 4.9 million pounds the prior year. Once long-term incentive awards are included, Quinn's total pay could reach 10.5 million pounds, the bank said. The bank's bonus pool for staff was slightly smaller than the $3.5 billion paid last year. Rival NatWest raised its bonus pool by nearly a quarter to 368 million pounds in earnings last week, and almost doubled CEO Alison Rose's pay package to 5.2 million pounds.

Despite the overall bonus cuts for staff, Chief Executive Noel Quinn saw his pay package jump 14% to 5.6 million pounds ($6.7 million), from 4.9 million pounds the prior year. Once long-term incentive awards are included, Quinn's total pay could reach 10.5 million pounds, the bank said. The bank's bonus pool for staff was slightly smaller than the $3.5 billion paid last year. HSBC's rival NatWest raised its bonus pool by nearly a quarter to 368 million pounds in earnings last week, and bumped up CEO Alison Rose's pay package to 5.2 million pounds. Barclays meanwhile trimmed its bonus pool slightly, but still paid out 1.8 billion pounds in bonuses.

☆ HSBC CEO: We have a much healthier capital base and profit generation than before Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHSBC CEO: We have a much healthier capital base and profit generation than before CovidNoel Quinn, CEO of HSBC, discusses the outlook for 2023 and its fourth-quarter earnings for 2022.

☆ Factbox: Global banks cut jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The British investment bank has performed well in recent quarters, especially in fixed income trading, but a blunder in the United States that saw it sell more securities than permitted has cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov. 8. The cost savings reported are likely to involve more job cuts than previously announced for the first wave of reductions, including in its wealth business, Reuters reported. DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers. MORGAN STANLEY (MS.N)In December, the investment bank slashed about 2% of its workforce, a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters.

FTX's implosion has heightened the need for more trustworthy, regulated cryptocurrency players, and big banks see an opportunity to pick up business, Mathew McDermott, Goldman's head of digital assets, told Reuters. Goldman is doing due diligence on a number of different crypto firms, he added, without giving details. HSBC (HSBA.L) CEO Noel Quinn, meanwhile, told a banking conference in London last week he has no plans to expand into crypto trading or investing for retail customers. Goldman Sachs has also together with MSCI and Coin Metrics launched data service datonomy, aimed at classifying digital assets based on how they are used. The firm is also building its own private distributed ledger technology, McDermott said.

☆ Factbox: Global banks take axe to jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Banks typically trim jobs towards the end of the year, but 2022 has seen a bigger wave of redundancies and layoffs. Rising cost pressures as a result of inflation and shrinking revenues in many core business lines amid volatile markets are making bank bosses nervous about profitability in 2023. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov.8. CREDIT SUISSECredit Suisse (CSGN.S) is accelerating cost cuts announced just weeks ago, Chairman Axel Lehmann said on Dec. 2, confirming a Reuters report, as the bank races to slash its cost base by around 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.68 billion). DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers.

The global job cuts at the London-headquartered bank will fall across several business units and geographical locations and result in the loss of at least 200 positions, mostly with the title of Chief Operating Officer (COO), the sources said. HSBC, which used to position itself as the world's local bank, employs many COOs because country and business lines have their own separate COO, the sources said. The lender has been shrinking its sprawling global business for several years, downsizing in many regions and exiting some countries entirely as it tries to improve shareholder returns. The initiative, codenamed Project Banyan, follows HSBC's last major redundancy plan in 2020, which targeted up to 35,000 job cuts globally across all staffing levels. Three separate sources confirmed job cuts were underway, as HSBC joins a chorus of other western banks axing staff as a bleak global economic outlook weighs on business, consumer and investment banking revenues.

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