HSBC annual profit falls on impairments, raises key target

HONG KONG: HSBC Holdings reported a 7.4% decline in full-year pretax profit on Wednesday, hurt by $4.9 billion worth of one-off charges.

After an unusually strong 2024, Europe’s largest bank posted a pretax profit of $29.9 billion last year, slightly ahead of the $28.9 billion average of broker estimates compiled by HSBC.

The charges included a $2.1 billion write-off related to its holdings in China’s Bank of Communications, legal provisions worth $1.4 billion as well as $1 billion of restructuring and other related costs.

HSBC also said it was raising its target for return on tangible equity, a key profit metric for banks, to “17% or better” through 2028, up from its “mid-teens” target set for the three years through 2027.

“2025 marked a year of decisive action and swift execution,” Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said in an earnings statement.

“We are becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world. “

Elhedery, a career HSBC veteran, has shaken up the bank since assuming the chief executive role one and a half years ago by reorganising operating divisions along East-West lines, shedding sub-scale investment banking units in the US and Europe, and slashing the ranks of senior managers.

Those efforts helped the bank’s London-listed stock surge 50% last year and it has climbed another 10% for the year to date.