HSBC Holdings' Net Profit More Than Doubled in 3Q

   By Yifan Wang 
 

HSBC Holdings PLC's third-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, sustaining the strong earnings momentum poster so far this year as the bank continued to release allowances for expected credit losses amid rising vaccination rates and an improving economic outlook.

Net profit surged to $3.54 billion in the quarter from $1.36 billion in the year-ago period, the Asia-focused lender said Monday. The result beat analysts' expectations in a FactSet poll.

Revenue rose 1.0% to $12.01 billion, mainly driven by a favorable foreign-currency translation effect.

The lender also announced a share-buyback program of up to $2 billion thanks to an optimistic business outlook and a strong capital position.

"While we retain a cautious outlook on the external risk environment, we believe that the lows of recent quarters are behind us," Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn said.

Looking ahead, the bank expects pressures on its lending business to abate as economies continue recovering and central banks start raising policy rates.

Amid investor concern over China's real-estate sector, HSBC said it has no direct credit exposure to developers in the "red" category, and limited exposure to clients categorized as "orange." The terms refer to Beijing's color code system for property company's liquidity concerns.

Write to Yifan Wang at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2021 00:42 ET (04:42 GMT)

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