HSBC has reported a marginal dip in its pre-tax profits for the first quarter of the year, with the UK-headquartered lender seeing profits before tax fall to $9.4 billion (approximately £6.96 billion), down from $9.5 billion (£7 billion) in the same period a year earlier.
Factors Behind the Decline
The bank attributed this decline to higher expected credit losses, other credit impairment charges, and a rise in operating expenses. However, HSBC's revenue climbed 6 per cent to $18.6 billion (£13.7 billion) compared with the opening quarter of 2025. This growth was primarily driven by strong performance in its wealth management division and Hong Kong business segment.
CEO Comments
Chief executive Georges Elhedery stated: “We continued to make positive progress in creating a simple, more agile, growing HSBC. Each of our four businesses contributed to firm-wide revenue growth and each delivered an annualised RoTE in excess of 17 per cent, excluding notable items.” He added: “In periods of greater uncertainty, customers turn to us more as their trusted partner to navigate complexity with the financial strength, stability and expertise they know they can rely on. We remain confident in achieving the targets we set out in February 2026.”
Legal and Strategic Developments
It was announced in early 2026 that HSBC had agreed to pay around 300 million euros (£260.6 million) to French authorities to settle a dividend fraud case, as the bank also said it had won shareholder backing to buy out its Hong Kong-listed business Hang Seng. The banking giant previously said it was “pleased to have resolved” the issue after being investigated by French financial prosecutors, bringing an end to the probe into its trading activity between 2014 and 2019. Several large France-based banks have been under investigation over their alleged use of a scheme to avoid certain taxes linked to the payment of dividends.
Branch Commitments
The bank has guaranteed its 327 UK branches will remain open until at least 2027 while also boosting investment in its network by 30 per cent next year, committing £55.8 million in 2026, up from £42 million in 2025. This funding is for refurbishing and modernising branches across the UK. This commitment builds on pledges made over the past two years, during which the bank promised no new branch closures until the end of this year. HSBC UK noted "robust" usage, with 825,000 customers visiting branches monthly and over two million transactions carried out via self-service machines.
