£24bn profits at HSBC likely to revive windfall tax debate

HSBC posted record profits of more than $30 billion (£24 billion) for the last year, figures that are bound to respark the debate about bank profiteering and increase calls for a windfall tax on the biggest lenders.

- Simon English

But the record-high annual profit wasn’t enough to please shareholders, who were disappointed by a $3 billion write-down on the bank’s stake in China’s Bank of Communications.

With the UK in recession and consumers struggling, high bank profits are unlikely to play well with the public.

Chief executive Noel Quinn, who declined to speak to the Evening Standard directly for the first time in years, told shareholders that the bank would pay out its highest dividend since the financial crisis of 2008 and buy back another $2 billion of shares to boost investor returns.