LENDING MOMENTUM

HSBC’S accelerating “pivot to Asia” is paying off, with the region being the linchpin of a five-fold surge in third-quarter profits, the banking giant revealed yesterday.

Stuart Gulliver, the outgoing chief executive, revealed that HSBC made a Q3 profit of $4.6 billion (£3.5bn) in the three months to end-september. That compared to a profit of $843 million (£642m) in the same period of 2016.

Gulliver said Hong Kong, where the bank had its beginnings, and the wider Asian region had contributed 70 per cent of group profits in the first nine months of 2017.

“Our pivot to Asia is driving higher returns and lending growth, particularly in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta,” Gulliver, who steps down next February, said.

The bank has announced that he will be replaced at the helm by John Flint, who currently heads up the retail banking and wealth management business.

Flint joined HSBC as an international officer in 1989, having spent the first 14 years of his career in Asia, helping

0 HSBC grew retail, commercial and investment banking revenues

IAN GORDON, ANALYST to establish and expand the bank’s global markets business in the region before moving back to London in 2004.

Under Flint and new HSBC chairman, Mark Tucker, also an Asian region veteran when formerly boss of insurer Prudential, it is expected the pace of the drive into Asia will speed up.

Asia accounted for 17 per cent of the bank’s overall lending growth in Q3. The group reported total revenue for Q3 of $12.9bn, slightly down on $13.2bn in the previous quarter, but 36 per cent up on $9.5bn a year earlier.

HSBC said revenue grew in three of its main businesses: the high street arm and wealth management, commercial banking for medium sized businesses, and its investment bank.

Revenues in the latter business declined 3 per cent to $3.9bn, but City analysts said this was a “resilient” performance given the numbers from rival banks in the investment banking sector.

HSBC has been a major costcutting

“We see the revenue performance alongside 1 per cent quarter on quarter loan growth as the key positives”