HSBC Holdings Plc announced a new buyback program as higher interest rates stoke the bank’s profits.
The London-based lender, which generates most of its income in Asia, will repurchase an additional $2 billion on top of a $2 billion program announced just three months ago, according to an earnings statement on Tuesday.
Rising interest rates and cost controls helped HSBC beat estimates for its second-quarter earnings. Pretax profits rose to $8.8 billion in the three months through June, beating a company-compiled analyst estimate of $7.96 billion.
“There was good broad-based profit generation around the world, higher revenue in our global businesses driven by strong net interest income, and continued tight cost control,” Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said in a statement.
HSBC is in the midst of a strategic repositioning of its business in a pivot toward Asia with more of the group’s resources focused on capturing growth in faster-growing markets. The lender is under pressure from top shareholder Ping An Insurance Group Co. to improve returns even as the insurer has failed to gain the backing of other investors to compel HSBC to report regularly on a possible carve-out of the Asian unit.
