HSBC profits soar thanks to higher interest rates

HSBC saw profits in the third quarter more than double to $7.7 billion (£6.4 billion) thanks to higher interest rates, figures likely to lead to fresh calls for banks to boost savings rates

- Simon English

The London-listed lender also said it would do another $3 billion of share buybacks, taking the total to $7 billion, which ought to be good news for investors, though the profits were shy of expectations.

Those shareholders include Ping An of China, which has been pushing for a break-up of the giant bank. Other investors and bank management led by CEO Noel Quinn have pushed back against that idea.

Quinn said today: “We have had three consecutive quarters of strong financial performance and are on track to achieve our mid-teens return on tangible equity target for 2023. There was good broad-based growth across all businesses and geographies, supported by the interest rate environment.”