HSBC Q3 profit jumps 32% to US$9.6b, launches US$1b buyback

HSBC reported a 32 per cent rise in third-quarter pretax profit to US$9.6 billion, driven by interest rate hikes and lower legal provisions. The bank also announced a US$1 billion share buyback and said credit losses fell 17 per cent, partly due to fewer charges from Hong Kong's real estate sector.

HSBC, Europe's largest bank, posted a 32 per cent surge in third-quarter pretax profit on Tuesday, reaching US$9.6 billion for the July-to-September period. The result was in line with the bank's own estimates and was supported by higher net interest income from rate hikes and the absence of legal provisions that had weighed on the same quarter a year earlier.

Alongside the earnings report, HSBC unveiled a share buyback of up to US$1 billion, matching the amount it authorised in the previous quarter. The bank also declared an interim dividend of US$0.10 per share, unchanged from the prior quarter.

Expected credit losses fell 17 per cent year on year to US$800 million, reflecting a reduction in charges linked to Hong Kong's real estate sector as well as the bank's UK and Mexican wealth businesses.