Noel Quinn

This comes as the bank reported a 1.5% increase in pre-tax profit to $8.9bn (c. £6.9bn) for the second quarter. 

The move marks a final act from outgoing CEO Noel Quinn, who has overseen $34.4bn (c. £26.8bn) in shareholder payouts during his tenure. Mr Quinn will be succeeded by CFO Georges Elhedery in September.

HSBC’s profit growth was driven by its wealth division and increased demand for investment banking services, offsetting an 11% drop in net interest income. The bank has raised its full-year net interest income forecast to $43bn (c. £33.5bn), contingent on global interest rates.

Despite setting aside $346 million (c. £269m) for potential defaults, this was significantly lower than last year’s figure.

Mr Quinn said: “After delivering record profits in 2023, we had another strong profit performance in the first half of 2024, which is further evidence that our strategy is working.

“Our investment in wealth is delivering higher, more diversified revenue and we continue to grow our core international and scale businesses, all of which helped us to provide $13.7bn of distributions in respect of the first half. We are confident that we have the right strategy and model to grow revenue, even in a lower interest rate environment, and are therefore providing new guidance of a mid-teens return on average tangible equity in 2025.”

He concluded: “I have always been immensely proud of the heritage of this bank and the strategic role it plays in the world. My aim when I took this job was to deliver financial performance to match our standing. Working together, I believe we have done that and created a strong platform for growth.”