British-based banking giant HSBC Holdings said on Monday that first half net profit fell seven percent to $3,28-billion as bad debt charges climbed sharply amid ”difficult market conditions”.
HSBC chairman John Bond said the bank remained cautious and was continuing to position itself for ”a subdued environment” over the rest of the year.
HSBC’s pretax profit also fell seven percent to $5,06-billion, against $5,44-billion a year earlier.
However, the net profit result was at the upper end of analysts’ expectations, which ranged between $2,9 and $3,3-billion.
Provisions for bad and doubtful debts climbed to $715-million from $441-million a year earlier. But the figure was down $881-million from the second half of last year, when the banking giant made a huge provision for its operations in financial crisis-rocked Argentina.
Bond said the remainder of the year would be shaped more by sentiment than economic fundamentals or policy action, following the recent turbulence in global share markets.
”Consumers who drove a prolonged period of growth and mitigated the effects of the bursting of the technology and telecoms bubble, are becoming more cautious.
”Without growth in corporate profitability and investment, a stock market rebound is unlikely,” he said.
HSBC owns the bank of the same name in Britain and is also listed in Hong Kong, where it owns the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp.
Additionally, it has interests in the United States, France and Latin America. – Reuters