HSBC to save $1.8 billion over two years under new CEO

HSBC HSBA.L posted annual profit on Wednesday that beat estimates, helped by increased revenue in wealth and markets businesses, and set stiff cost-cut targets as its new CEO implements a revamp of the Asia-focused bank to boost returns.

HSBC posted annual profit on Wednesday that beat estimates, helped by increased revenue in wealth and markets businesses, and set stiff cost-cut targets as its new CEO implements a revamp of the Asia-focused bank to boost returns. The lender also announced a new $2 billion share buyback which it plans to complete before next earnings. The figures come against the backdrop of CEO Georges Elhedery embarking on costly restructuring just as the business outlook is muddied by divergence in central bank interest rate policies, with the euro zone having room to cut rates, the US holding steady and Japan expected to raise. Elhedery, who took the helm in September last year, has been taking steps to boost returns and tighten the London-headquartered bank’s focus on Asia, where it earns the bulk of its profit. HSBC reported profit before tax for 2024 of $32.3 billion, as income withstood the impact of falling interest rates. That compared with $30.3 billion a year earlier and the $31.7 billion average of analyst estimates compiled by the bank. The bank said it aimed to generate about $300 million of cost reductions in 2025, with a commitment to an annualized reduction of $1.5 billion in cost base expected by the end of 2026.