HSBC building in the Canary Wharf district of London, UK
Leon Neal | AFP | Getty Images
HSBC said on Tuesday that its pre-tax reported profit for 2020 fell 34% from a year ago to $ 8.8 billion and declared an interim dividend of 15 cents a share.
The bank’s profit exceeded analysts’ expectations of $ 8.3 billion over the past year, according to estimates compiled by the London-based bank.
Prior to the launch of earnings, HSBC shares in Hong Kong rose 3% in Tuesday’s trading earlier this year.
Like many of its global colleagues, HSBC built provisions last year for potential loan losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond the financial results, investors had anticipated the bank’s comments on dividend payments and share repurchases. HSBC stopped both operations last year as UK regulators asked creditors to keep the capital.
The Bank of England said in December that British banks could resume paying dividends. Barclays also announced last week that it would resume such payments and begin a £ 700 million ($ 985.4 million) share repayment.
Jackson Wong, director of asset management at Amber Hill Capital, told CNBC on Tuesday for “Street Signs Asia” that a 13- to 15-cent dividend from HSBC would be considered “reasonable” by investors.
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