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| HSBC said it is hiring 'more frontline staff' in its strongest businesses after an overhaul that saw 50,000 jobs axed |
Britain's Asia-focused bank HSBC on Monday revealed a $765-million US fine over the lender's actions in the run-up to the subprime crisis, as it also logged rising first-half profits.
HSBC said
it has agreed to pay the large US penalty over its conduct in residential
mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), a type of investment derivative that bundled
home loans into securities and was sold to investors before the 2008 financial
meltdown.
"HSBC
reached a settlement-in-principle to resolve the Department of Justice's civil
claims relating to its investigation of HSBC's legacy RMBS origination and
securitisation activities from 2005 to 2007," the lender announced in a
results statement.
"Under
the terms of the settlement, HSBC will pay the DoJ a civil money penalty of
$765 million."
The
London-headquartered giant is the latest global bank to reach a US settlement
over conduct in the run-up to the notorious subprime crisis which sparked a
worldwide recession.
However,
the deal was agreed in July and therefore was not included in HSBC's first half
results, which cover the six months to June.
Brexit, trade war headwinds
HSBC posted
advancing first-half profits and expressed optimism over the outlook -- despite
headwinds from rising costs, the China-US trade war and Brexit.
Pre-tax
profit rose almost five percent to $10.7 billion in the six months to the end
of June compared with a year earlier.
Net profit
or earnings after taxation gained 2.5 percent to $7.173 billion, boosted by
high-growth markets -- particularly in Asia and the Middle East.
"We
haven't yet seen any impact on our business or through our customers,"
chief executive John Flint told reporters when asked about the impact of the
China-US trade spat.
"It's
still too early to tell and in terms of estimating potential impact it's
difficult because we don’t quite know what the substance of the trade war will
be.
"We've
got some tariffs in place and some coming, but the full impact is very difficult
to estimate.
"It is
possible that it will shave China's GDP growth by a modest amount but (it is)
too early too start predicting."
Turning to
Britain's looming departure from the European Union next year, the bank chief
stressed that its cost estimate for a so-called hard Brexit remained unchanged.
The lender
had warned late last year that a chaotic Brexit could cost it up to $300
million.
It had also
outlined tentative plans to switch 1,000 jobs to Paris from London owing to
Britain's departure from the European Union due in 2019.
"Our
role has been to ensure that we are in a position to secure customers' ...
needs across the UK, Europe and the network that we serve in 67 markets across
the world," added Flint on Monday.
"Our
planning from the outset has been based on what is euphemistically called a
hard Brexit, and therefore the cost guidance that we have given in that regard
remains absolutely consistent with what we have talked about in the past."
Costs
outpace revenues
Revenues
were up four percent at $27.3 billion in the reporting period -- but operating
expenses grew seven percent to $17.5 billion.
In late
morning deals, HSBC shares fell 0.53 percent to 712 pence on London's rising
FTSE 100 index.
"The
market has reacted cautiously to the numbers ... because the group reported
costs rising significantly faster than income," noted Hargreaves Lansdown
analyst Steve Clayton.
After
wide-ranging cutbacks that saw 50,000 jobs axed in an overhaul announced in
2015, the bank added on Monday that it was now hiring again as it seeks new
growth areas.
Flint said
in June that he plans to invest $15-17 billion primarily in growth and
technology projects, with a particular focus on accelerating growth in Asia.
HSBC,
founded in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865, sees its focus firmly in Asia,
although it has been based in Britain since 1992.
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