HSBC Holdings is set to buy back as much as $2 billion of stock, with CEO Noel Quinn revealing the potential for further buybacks in the future.
Quinn noted that buybacks and dividends are viable ways of distributing excess capital.
During the interview, he also commented on the bank’s cost-cutting measures, its recent SVB acquisition, the tumultuous state of US banks, and the UK economy.
The bank’s pre-tax profit surged to $12.89 billion, more than triple the estimated $8.64 billion, driven in part by a $2.1 billion reversal of an impairment related to the delayed sale of its French retail division, as well as a $1.5 billion gain from its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK business.
The quarter was characterized by “strong capital generation,” Jefferies analyst Joseph Dickerson said in a note.
“Revenue showed strength notably in non-interest income.”
