In the first quarter of 2025, HSBC increased pre-tax profit adjusted for one-off effects such as divestments and currency effects by 11 percent to 9.8 billion dollars. Adjusted revenues increased by seven percent to 17.7 billion dollars, as was reported in a press release on Tuesday.

The bank points to growth in the wealth management business in the IWPB and Hong Kong business segments. This was supported by higher client activity in the foreign exchange, bond and equity market business due to high market volatility.

On balance, however, the London-based bank earned less. Following extraordinary income of 3.7 billion dollars from divestments in Canada and Argentina last year, net profit fell by 3.2 billion or 32 percent to 6.93 billion dollars.

New Share Buyback Program

The announcement of a new share buyback program with a volume of USD 3 billion should please shareholders. A 2 billion program was completed last year.

«This quarter's strong results reflect the momentum behind our earnings, the disciplined execution of our strategy, and our confidence in reaching our goals», said CEO Georges Elhedery.

Elhedery took over the management of the bank last September and undertook a far-reaching restructuring. HSBC has merged its commercial and investment banking activities and intends to concentrate on its strengths such as the private client business in the UK and Hong Kong. This also includes cost savings of 1.8 billion dollars over the next two years.

HSBC generates the majority of its income in Asia and, as one of the world's largest commercial banks, would be exposed to major risks in the event of a trade dispute between the USA and China. The management asserts that a conservative approach to credit risk means it is well positioned to overcome the challenges ahead. In a scenario with significantly higher tariffs, the bank expects a direct impact on earnings in the low single-digit percentage range and credit losses of around 500 million dollars.