It will distribute a special dividend after closing the sale of its banking business in Canada
MADRID, 21 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -
HSBC, the largest European bank by assets, registered an attributable net profit of 14,822 million dollars (13,870 million euros) in 2022, which represents an increase of 17.6% compared to the profits recorded the previous year, as reported by the entity, which is studying the payment of a special dividend of $0.21 after the sale of its banking business in Canada.
In the last year, the British entity, but whose business is mainly concentrated in Asia, registered an adverse impact of 3,592 million dollars (3,361 million euros) due to provisions to cover potential credit losses and other non-payments, compared to the positive effect of 928 million dollars (868 million euros) registered in 2021.
Likewise, the bank assumed a negative impact of 2,378 million dollars (2,225 million euros) in relation to the impairment of value linked to the sale of retail banking operations in France.
For its part, HSBC's operating income totaled 61,596 million dollars (57,639 million euros) in the year, 3.7% below the entity's income a year earlier.
However, net interest income increased by 23% in the year, to 32,610 million dollars (30,515 million euros), while commission income decreased by 12.6%, to 11,451 million dollars (10,715 million euro).
Between October and December, HSBC obtained an attributed net profit of 4,620 million dollars (4,323 million euros), 158% more than in the fourth quarter of 2021, while its revenues totaled 15,352 million dollars (14,366 million euros) , 38.4% more.
"2022 was another good year for HSBC," said Noel Quinn, CEO of the entity. "We are on track to deliver higher returns in 2023 and have built a platform for further value creation," he added.
HSBC's board of directors has approved the distribution of a second interim dividend of $0.23 per share, bringing the total amount to $0.32 per share.
Likewise, the entity indicated that, subject to the completion of the sale of the banking business in Canada, it intends to consider the payment of a special dividend of $0.21 per share as a priority use of the proceeds generated by the transaction, which is currently expected by the end of 2023.
In addition, he noted that any remaining additional capital surplus will be allocated to organic growth and investment opportunities along with possible own share buybacks, which would be in addition to any existing share buyback program.
Looking ahead to 2023, HSBC is confident of meeting its return on average tangible equity ('RoTE') target of at least 12%, while the revenue outlook remains positive.
In this way, based on the current market consensus regarding the rates of global central banks, HSBC anticipates net interest income of at least 36,000 million dollars (33,688 million euros) in 2023.
