HSBC boosted by rising interest rates as H1 profits grow

HSBC posted a rise in first-half profits on Tuesday as it benefited from rising interest rates, and announced a share buyback of up to $2bn.

In the first six months of the year, pre-tax profit rose to $21.7bn from $9.2bn in the same period a year earlier. This included a $2.1bn reversal of an impairment relating to the planned sale of its retail banking operations in France and a provisional gain of $1.5bn on the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK.

Revenue grew by $12.3bn to $36.9bn. HSBC said this was driven by higher net interest income in all of its global businesses due to interest rate rises.

Chief executive Noel Quinn said: "We have delivered a strong first half performance and are confident of achieving our revised mid-teens return on tangible equity target in 2023 and 2024. There was good broad-based profit generation around the world, higher revenue in our global businesses driven by strong net interest income, and continued tight cost control.

"I am also pleased that we can reward our shareholders with a second interim dividend of $0.10 per share and a second share buy-back in 2023 of up to $2bn, with substantial further distribution capacity still expected ahead.

"There is still much work to do, especially given the many challenges in the global economy, but I am confident about the future as we move further into the next phase of our strategy and focus on opportunities to drive value creation, diversify our revenue and retain tight cost control."