HSBC Holdings Plc reported its third-quarter net profit doubled as the London-based banking giant continued to benefit from elevated interest rates and higher non-interest income. The Asia-focused lender posted net profit of US$24.3 billion on Sept 30, up from $12.7 billion year-on-year. Europe's largest bank by assets said profit before taxes for the quarter rose by $4.5 billion to $7.7 billion, mainly due to a higher interest rate environment. HSBC said the increase was in part based on a $2.3-billion impairment in the third quarter of 2022 relating to the planned sale of its retail banking operations in France. Of that amount, $2.1 billion was reversed in the first quarter of 2023 as it became less certain the transaction would be completed. "We now expect to reclassify these operations as held for sale in the fourth quarter, at which point the impairment would be reinstated," said the bank. Total revenue was $16.2 billion in the third quarter, up by 40% year-on-year. HSBC also attributed this to higher interest rates, saying it supported growth in net interest income in all of its global businesses. Non-interest income increased by 97% to $6.9 billion primarily because the sale of operations in France is excluded. "We had three consecutive quarters of strong financial performance and are on track to achieve a mid-teens return on our tangible equity target for 2023. There was good broad-based growth across all businesses and geographies, supported by the interest rate environment," said Noel Quinn, group chief executive.
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