The week started disappointingly for HSBC, after releasing its first-half earnings report.
The largest European bank by assets posted a $1.98 billion net profit, marking a staggering 77% drop from last year's $8.51 billion. Its revenue for the first six months of the year came in at $26.75 billion from $29.37 billion at the same time the previous year.
According to the bank’s CEO, Noel Quinn, the performance was harmed by the market’s volatility, interest rates, and the pandemic.
HSBC's credit impairment charges surged by $5.7 billion to $6.9 billion amid the economic fallout caused by the pandemic and higher costs related to wholesale customers.
The bank didn’t make any predictions, but intends to offer guidance about the medium-term financial goals and dividend policy when it will announce the year-end results.
It is another hit taken by the bank as earlier this year, the Bank of England requested HSBC to cancel the dividend payouts to protect itself from any economic shocks caused by COVID-19.
During the Hong Kong trading hours, HSBC stock price fell 4.4%, trading around $4.3. According to Refinitiv (global provider of financial market data), it is the lowest price since March 2009. The London-listed stocks dropped by 5.6%.
Read more about what happened in the first two quarters of the year on CAPEX.com!
Sources: cnn.com, marketwatch.com
