HSBC 1H profit surges
HSBC Holdings Plc said first-half profit rose 25 percent, boosted by a maiden contribution from Household International Inc which it bought for $15.5 billion earlier this year.
The world’s second-largest bank posted net income of $4.11 billion, up from $3.28 billion in the same period last year.
HSBC’s purchase of Household, which provides loans to people with bad credit histories, boosted pretax profit by $651 million.
HSBC bought Household in March to gain more than 50 million customers in the US. Still, the acquisition caused some concern at the time as it also tripled provisions for risky loans at London-based HSBC, Bloomberg reported.
No more purchases
Chief Executive Stephen Green told reporters Monday he wasn’t planning any more major take-overs.
“Our obvious task over the next few years is to digest the substantial expansion that’s taken place,” he added.
Profit before tax at HSBC’s corporate, investment banking and markets division rose 8.1 percent, spurred by its fixed-income business.
Declining interest rates boosted mortgage refinancings in the U.K. and the U.S., increasing earnings at the banks consumer unit. Sales rose by $5.4 billion to $18.5 billion.
Profit beat analyst forecasts, Bloomberg said.
HSBC shares in London rose 13 pence, or 1.7 percent, to 777.5p.