The largest bank in Europe, HSBC announced another $3 billion share buyback. Although the bank more than doubled its third-quarter profits, they fell short of expectations as technology, operating and payroll costs also rose.
The bank announced pre-tax profits of $7.7 billion in the third quarter, compared to $3.2 billion in the same period last year. However, this is still less than the $8.1 billion that analysts expected.
HSBC aims to complete the share repurchase process by February next year, bringing the total repurchase operations announced this year to $7 billion. The bank also announced the third interim period for this year Dividend of 10 cents per shareso the total payout for the year is 30 cents per share.
Despite these announcements, HSBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 0.26% after the earnings announcement.
The bank also announced in its quick report for the third quarter the following:
- Its global banking division increased its revenue by 2% in the third quarter, as the investment bank was able to benefit from higher interest rates.
- The bank also reported positive growth in its wealth management business: $34 billion in net capital flowed into the business in the quarter.
- On the other hand, HSBC’s net interest margin fell by 2 basis points to 1.70%. The reason for this is that more and more customers are converting their demand deposits and current accounts into term products, especially in Asia.
- HSBC too It announced a $500 million impairment charge related to China’s commercial real estate sector. The bank said it continues to closely monitor the risks associated with its exposure to this sector.
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