HSBC Annual Results: Bank Pushes Stronger in Asia and Wants to Return Dividend

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The bank, which is headquartered in London, even though it earns most of its money in Asia, told investors on Tuesday that it intends to “intensify” its investments in the region by about $ 6 billion. It is also moving more resources there, including moving key employees.

HSBC (HSBC) highlighted Greater China, Southeast Asia and India as “key factors” in its future growth. Specifically, it wants to strengthen its presence in mainland China, defend its leading position in Hong Kong and establish Singapore as a wealth management center.
It is a plan that focuses on a continent that delivers over 80% of HSBC’s profits before the pandemic. Last year, Asia “was again by far the most profitable region,” President Mark Tucker said in a statement.

The continued focus on Asia came when HSBC announced that its pre-tax profit fell to $ 8.8 billion last year, down 34% from the previous year. Meanwhile, revenues fell 10 percent to $ 50.4 billion.

However, this was even better than analysts expected. And the bank said on Tuesday that it aims to restore its dividend “at the earliest opportunity”, starting at 15 cents per share.

Like other lenders, HSBC was forced to cancel its dividend last year at the request of UK regulators. The Bank of England relaxed some of those guidelines in December.

“This has been a difficult decision and we deeply regret the impact it has had on our shareholders,” Tucker said in a statement, adding that the board has adopted a policy to ensure sustainable dividends in the future.

Shares of HSBC rose 2.2% in Hong Kong on Tuesday before retreating somewhat.

There is also growing speculation that the company will leave certain parts of its business in other regions as it works to reduce costs. This week, for example, the Financial Times reported that HSBC would give up its US retail banking network. HSBC did not confirm this report in presenting its earnings, saying that “we continue to explore strategic options regarding our US retail franchise”.

However, the bank revealed during its results that it is in talks to retail its arm in France.

“[We] “I am in negotiations about a potential sale, although no decision has been made yet,” he said. “If a sale is made, given the core performance of the French retail business, a loss on sales is expected.”

– This is an evolving story and will be updated.

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