Financial Results
HSBC Targets "Double-Digit" Wealth Income Growth; Profits Rise

The group, which reorganised its divisions into a simpler structure, said the wealth side of the business helped drive results and it expects to deliver double-digit income growth in "the medium term".
HSBC today said that
pre-tax profit on a constant currency basis for its wealth and
personal banking arm rose 37.7 per cent in 2024 to $12.18 billion
from a year before, with profit for the whole bank also
rising to $32.3 billion from $29.9 billion.
The WPB division logged net operating income of $27.3 billion in
2024, up from $25.9 billion; total operating costs rose to $15.2
billion from $14.35 billion. Expected credit losses in 2024 were
$1.335 billion, widening from $935 million, Hong
Kong/UK-listed HSBC said in a statement.
Looking ahead, HSBC said it expects double-digit percentage
annual growth in fee and other income in its wealth business over
the medium term.
“Our strong 2024 performance provides firm financial foundations
upon which to build for the future, as we prioritise delivering
sustainable strategic growth and the best outcomes for our
customers. Since becoming CEO, I have focused on simplifying how
we operate and injected energy and intent into the way we deliver
our strategy. We are creating a simple, more agile, focused bank
built on our core strengths,” Georges Elhedery, group CEO,
said.
The bank’s pre-tax profit result included a $1.0 billion net
favourable effect from items in 2024 – selling off its banking
arm in Canada, the effect of disposing Argentina businesses, and
recycling foreign currency reserve losses and other
reserves.
Wealth and personal banking and global banking and markets helped
propel the bank’s results, offset to some degree by higher
operating costs, HSBC said in a statement.
HSBC’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard international
measure of a bank’s capital buffer – was 14.9 per cent, up
slightly, mainly resulting from capital generation and a
decline in risk-weighted assets. The bank’s board has approved a
fourth interim dividend of $0.36 per share, producing a total of
$0.87 per share. HSBC said it intends to initiate a share buyback
of up to $2 billion, and expects to wrap that up by its
first-quarter 2025 results announcement.
The bank said it is targeting a return on average tangible equity
for 2025-27 to be in the “mid-teens” in percentage terms; it
wants operating costs to rise by about 3 per cent in 2025 versus
2024. Cost targets include savings from a
previously announced reorganisation. It plans to incur
severance and up-front costs of $1.8 billion in 2025 and 2026.