HONG KONG: HSBC Holdings reported a 212% increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday, as it benefitted from rising interest rates around the world.

Europe’s largest bank posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the first quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. The results were better than the $8.64 billion average estimate of 17 analysts compiled by HSBC.

HSBC’s headline profit was boosted by a reversal of a $2 billion impairment it took against the planned sale of its French business, reflecting the fact that the deal may no longer go through.

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The bank said the planned $10 billion sale of its Canadian business, originally slated to complete by the end of this year, will now only likely go through in the first quarter of 2024.

That follows a warning the bank gave last month that its France disposal could be in jeopardy over regulatory capital concerns for the buyer.

The London-headquartered bank announced the first of a new cycle of buybacks along with the results of up to $2 billion. It also announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, its first quarterly dividend since 2019.