HONG KONG, April 26 ― HSBC said today that first-quarter profits dropped nearly 30 per cent owing to higher-than-expected credit losses and inflation but the Asia-focused lending giant remained upbeat about its outlook.
The lender reported an ECL of US$600 million, compared with a release of US$400 million from the same period last year. “The repercussions from the Russia-Ukraine war, alongside the economic impacts that continue to result from Covid-19, have pushed up the prices of a broad range of commodities, with the resulting increase in inflation creating further challenges for monetary authorities and our customers,” the bank said.
HSBC has embarked on a multi-year strategic pivot to Asia and the Middle East, and on Tuesday it noted that while coronavirus restrictions were lifting across much of the globe, key markets such as China and Hong Kong remained committed to zero-Covid controls.