HSBC plc on Tuesday reported that its 2021 profit more than tripled to $12.6 billion as the bank sold its retail business in France and expanded wealth management in Asia. Profit rose despite a 2 per cent decline in revenue to $49.6 billion amid the Covid-19 pandemic’s pressure on commercial customers, the bank reported.
HSBC said it expects “good business momentum” this year and mid-single-digit growth in lending but weaker performance in wealth management this quarter in Asia.
The bank sold its French retail business to American investment group Cerberus in June, marking another step in plans to focus on Asia and trim exposure to Europe and North America.
India numbers
The foreign lender’s profit before tax from India rose marginally to $1.11 billion in 2021. The bank’s profit before tax had stood at $1.024 billion in 2020. The country is the fourth biggest profit centre for the UK-based lender, after Hong Kong, the UK and Mainland China, according to an official statement.
Courtesy back-office operations, India retains the top ranking in terms of employees but the number of people employed declined by 1,000 to 38,000. The total number of employees had declined by 1,000 in 2020 as well.
Among its business lines, the commercial banking segment showed one of the fastest growth at nearly 42 per cent to deliver a profit before tax of $265 million against $187 million in the year-ago period.
