HSBC income up by 50 pc, Net Profit up by 41 pc

Mumbai, Jun 3: Income from the Indian operations of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) went up by 50 per cent in 2007-08 to touch Rs 7,096 crore from Rs 720 crore the previous year with the net profit rising to Rs 1,192 crore, up by 41 per cent, from the 2006-07 figure of Rs 84 crore.

The Bank in a release here today said its total assets increased 38 per cent to Rs 75,921 crore from Rs 54,929 crore in the previous year, with deposits increasing by 22 per cent to Rs 42,620 crore and advances rising by 29 per cent to Rs 29,944 crore. Despite this growth, the bank's cost income ratio improved by three per cent year on year from 45 per cent in 2006-07 to 42 per cent in 2007-08.

The bank's capital and reserves increased by Rs 2,299 crore to Rs 8,459 crore. In recognition of the opportunities in the Indian market and the bank's performance to date, the HSBC Group injected fresh capital of Rs 788 crore to support the growth in the bank's operation in India during the year. The bank continued to maintain a strong Capital Adequacy ratio, which on Basel I norms stood at 10.59 per cent as at March 31, 2008, as compared to 11.06 per cent as at March 31, 2007. The bank has migrated to Basel II norms and its Capital Adequacy ratio on these norms as at March 31, 2008, stood at 11.46 per cent.

Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India, said ''The consistent strong performance recorded by the bank in India speaks volumes about the strengths of our individual businesses, the comprehensive range of products we offer to meet the growing needs of our customers, the innovative abilities of our employees and the trust placed by our customers in our brand.''

UNI