HSBC restarted a $1 billion share buyback after second-quarter pre-tax profit of $10.1 billion sailed past the bank's own £9.5 billion forecast and jumped 60 percent from $6.3 billion a year earlier. The FTSE 100 lender, whose £274 billion market capitalisation makes it the London Stock Exchange's most valuable company, said the programme would be completed before its third-quarter update.
Revenue and margin expand
Revenue climbed 11 percent to $37.7 billion. Net interest income rose 8 percent to $18.2 billion as the bank reinvested lower-yielding hedges at current market rates, a strategy known as structural hedging. The net interest margin widened four basis points to 1.61 percent. Fee income, prized for its independence from rate cycles, increased nearly 10 percent to $7.3 billion, driven by a 20 percent surge in wealth revenue to $5.5 billion, a core focus for chief executive Georges Elhedery.
Buyback pause lifted
The bank had halted buybacks in October 2025 to fund the privatisation of Hang Seng Bank, paying HK$155 per share for the 36 percent stake it did not already own, a deal that valued the holding at HK$106.1 billion (£10.7 billion). With that transaction behind it, the board authorised the new $1 billion programme. Elhedery, just over two years into the role, has split the group into eastern and western markets covering Asia-Pacific and the Middle East on one side and the Americas and Europe on the other.
Cost target raised
Elhedery lifted the 2026 cost-cutting target to $2 billion from the original $1.5 billion, which the bank said was achieved at the start of this year. The group expects to hit the higher goal within the existing $1.8 billion restructuring budget. Total headcount fell to 206,161, down 2,559 since the end of 2025. In February, the bank cut a number of investment bankers at vice-president level and above on bonus payment day; those terminated received no bonus.