匯豐控股利潤暴跌，因中國業務虧損加劇

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

HSBC profit tumbles as China losses mount

Reuters - Selena Li and Lawrence White

Updated Wed, July 30, 2025 at 1:59 a.m. PDT·4 min read

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) -HSBC Holdings reported a sharper-than-expected drop in profit on Wednesday, hurt by write-downs from exposures to a Chinese bank and Hong Kong real estate, while the bank pushed ahead with a global restructuring.

Its 26% slump in pretax profit in the first half showed the challenge ahead for CEO Georges Elhedery, as Europe's largest bank racked up losses in China, where it has increasingly pinned its plans for growth in recent years after shrinking in Western markets.

Elhedery, who has unleashed a sweeping restructuring at the bank after taking charge last year, said in an earnings conference call that the bank started reviews of its retail banking business in Australia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and will start winding down its Bangladesh retail business in the second half of this year.

The lender's corporate and institutional banking businesses were unaffected by these developments, he said.

The bank posted a profit of $15.8 billion for the first six months of this year, missing brokers' estimates of $16.5 billion.

London-listed shares of HSBC fell 4.5%, matching earlier losses in its Hong Kong shares.

The lender's shares have risen 36% in the last year, as it benefited from higher returns on its lending and grew income in its wealth business, though that lagged a 76% gain over the same period in rival Standard Chartered.

HSBC took a further $2.1 billion hit from its stake in state-run Bank of Communications, following a $3 billion impairment it took in February 2024 amid mounting bad loans in China.

CEO Elhedery downplayed the impairments on the bank's BoCom stake, saying it would have no impact on its ability to pay dividends.

"These are accounting-related impairments...they do not impact the outlook we have on the Chinese economy, they are paper losses," he said on the call.

The new writedown included a $1.1 billion loss as a result of the Chinese bank's fundraising earlier this year, which diluted HSBC's ownership.

China's property market, once a key growth driver for the world's second-largest economy, has been in a multi-year tailspin despite repeated government attempts to revive weak consumer demand, which left losses on domestic lenders' loan books.

HSBC's expected credit losses grew by $900 million compared to the first half of last year to $1.9 billion, the bank said, partly due to its exposure to Hong Kong's troubled commercial real estate sector.

A sluggish property market in Hong Kong could continue to weigh on the asset quality of banks operating in Hong Kong, analysts from Citigroup said.

Hang Seng Bank, which is 62% owned by HSBC, saw shares slump close to 7% on Wednesday after a 224% increase in Hong Kong real estate credit charges in the second quarter from a year ago.

 

DOUR OUTLOOK

HSBC also said the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs could cause it to miss its profitability target of a mid-teens return on tangible equity in future years, in a scenario where the economy deteriorates and central banks slash policy rates.

The lender disclosed it expects to recognise a loss of around $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter this year, when it completes the sale of a mortgage portfolio in France to insurer Rothesay and French lender CCF.

The corporate and institutional banking business, HSBC's biggest revenue earner after a sweeping reorganisation since last year, delivered $6.4 billion in pretax profit in the first half, up 4% from same period last year, and was the only business segment out of four main divisions that saw profit increase.

The lender, with a market value of $225 billion, announced a new share buyback worth up to $3 billion, in line with expectations, on top of a $3 billion buyback programme announced earlier this year.

The bank said it would pay an interim dividend of 10 cents a share.

HSBC's immediate challenge is to find a replacement for Chairman Mark Tucker, who announced his plan to step down in May after eight years at the bank, said Morningstar senior analyst Michael Makdad.

"It needs to make sure that shareholders in Asia remain on board with the strategic direction CEO Elhedery is taking centered on simplification and intensive cost-cutting, but without a radical overhaul of the entire business model," he said.

Translation

匯豐控股利潤暴跌，因中國業務虧損加劇

香港/倫敦（路透社） - 匯豐控股週三公佈，利潤降幅超預期，原因是其對一家中資銀行和香港房地產業務的風險敞口減值，同時該行正在推進全球重組。

匯豐控股上半年稅前利潤暴跌26%，凸顯了執行長 Georges Elhedery面臨的挑戰。這家歐洲最大的銀行在中國市場不斷虧損，而近年來，在縮減西方市場業務後，匯豐控股的成長計劃越來越多地專注中國市場。

Elhedery去年上任後，對匯豐銀行進行了全面重組。他在財報電話會議上表示，匯豐已開始審查其在澳洲、印尼和斯里蘭卡的零售銀行業務，並將在今年下半年開始逐步縮減其在孟加拉的零售銀行業務。

他表示，貸款企業和機構銀行業務上並未受到這些變化的影響。

匯豐銀行今年上半年獲利158億美元，低於券商預期的165億美元。

在倫敦上市的匯豐銀行股價下跌4.5%，與其香港股票早前的跌幅吻合。

匯豐銀行股價去年上漲了36%，得益於貸款業務回報率的提高和財富管理業務收入的增長，儘管這一漲幅低於其競爭對手渣打銀行同期76%的漲幅。

匯豐銀行持有的國營交通銀行股份再度遭受21億美元的損失，此前該行於2024年2月因中國不良貸款激增而受到30億美元的減損。

執行長Elhedery淡化了該行所持交通銀行股份的減損損失，稱這不會影響其派息能力。

他在電話會議上表示： “這些是與會計相關的減值…這不會影響我們對中國經濟的展望，而是帳面損失。”

新的減損包括中國銀行的今年稍早因融資導致的11億美元損失，這稀釋了匯豐銀行的持股比例。

中國房地產市場曾是世界第二大經濟體的主要成長動力，儘管政府多次嘗試重振疲軟的消費需求，但多年來一直處於低迷狀態，導致國內銀行的貸款帳簿上出現虧損。

匯豐銀行表示，其預期信貸損失較去年上半年增加9億美元，達到19億美元，部分原因是其在香港陷入困境的商業房地產領域的風險敞口。

花旗集團分析師表示，香港房地產市場低迷可能會繼續拖累在港營運的銀行的資產質素。

匯豐銀行持有恆生銀行62%的股份，該行股價週三暴跌近7%，原因是其第二季香港房地產信貸費用較去年同期增加了224%。

前景嚴峻

匯豐銀行也表示，在經濟惡化,且各國央行大幅下調政策利率的情況下，美國總統特朗普的貿易關稅措施可能導致其未來幾年無法實現有形資產回報率達到大約15% 的獲利目標。

該行披露，預計今年第四季將出現約14億美元的虧損，屆時將完成向保險公司Rothesay和法國貸款機構CCF出售法國抵押貸款組合的交易。

企業及機構銀行業務是匯豐自去年以來進行全面重組後最大的收入來源，上半年實現了64億美元的稅前利潤，年增長4%，是四大主要部門中唯一實現利潤增長的業務部門。

這家市值2,250億美元的銀行宣佈，根據在年初宣佈的30億美元股票回購計劃的基礎上，再進行一項高達30億美元的股票回購，這與預期相符。

該行表示，將派發每股10美分的中期股息。

晨星高級分析師 Michael Makdad 表示，匯豐目前面臨的挑戰是尋找董事長 Mark Tucker 的繼任人。 Tucker在該行任職八年後，於5月宣佈了卸任計劃。

他說： “公司需要確保亞洲股東繼續支持首席執行官 Elhedery 所採取的以簡化和大幅削減成本為中心的戰略方向，不會去徹底改革整個商業模式。”

So, HSBC Holdings reported a sharper-than-expected drop in profit that was hurt by write-downs from exposures to a Chinese bank and Hong Kong real estate. HSBC also said the impact of U.S.'s trade tariffs could cause it to miss its profitability target. Apparently, banking business in Hong Kong is having a difficult time.