HONG KONG/LONDON: HSBC Holdings reported a 26% slide in first-half pretax profit on Wednesday, missing analyst estimates, as impairments from its investment in Bank of Communications and exposure to Hong Kong real estate weighed.
Europe’s largest bank posted a pretax profit of $15.8 billion for the first six months of this year, versus $21.6 billion a year earlier.
The result compared with the $16.5 billion average of broker estimates compiled by HSBC.
The lender took a further $2.1 billion hit from its stake in Bank of Communications, following a $3 billion impairment it took in February 2024 amid mounting bad loans in China.
Expected credit losses grew by $900 million compared to the first half of last year to $1.9 billion, the bank said, partly due to its exposure to Hong Kong’s troubled commercial real estate sector.
Europe’s biggest bank, with a market value of $225 billion, announced a new share buyback worth up to $3 billion, on top of a $3 billion buyback programme announced earlier this year.
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