PRETAX PROFITS at international bank HSBC doubled to more than $11bn in the first half of this year.
Bad debts at the bank fell to their lowest level since the beginning of the financial crisis. HSBC was profitable in every region except the US, where it posted a loss of around $80m according to the Financial Times.
The figures also mark the firsst time the bank’s personal finance division has delivered a profit in over two years.
The bank also halved their impairments, which fell from over $14bn last year, to to $7.5bn this year. HSBC says it continues to increase lending in the UK and is “very much open for business”. However, it hit out at an idea mooted by the government to force more banks to sign up to lending targets.
HSBC’s investment banking division had the “second best ever half-year results”. Shares in the company are up over 3% as a result.
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